Nine months after the Mavericks traded Quentin Grimes and a 2025 second-round pick to the Philadelphia Sixers for Caleb Martin and a second-round pick, Dallas got rid of GM Nico Harrison. Of course, it wasn't for the Grimes trade, but instead, for Harrison's role in sending Luka Dončić to the Lakers.
Harrison made that move thinking that Dallas would win a championship with Anthony Davis. You know how many games AD has played since the trade? Fourteen. He got hurt in his first game with the Mavericks after the trade. So far this season, he's played only five games due to a calf strain.
While Harrison will go down in NBA history as the man who orchestrated the disastrous Luka Dončić trade, that isn't the only bad decision he has made; however, it's the worst. Trading Grimes is up there.
Grimes averaged 21.9 points with the Sixers in the second half of last season, shooting 46.9% from the field and 37.3% from three. He added 5.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.5 steals per game to go with that. It didn't take long for Harrison and the Mavericks to look silly for letting him go.
For those who attributed Grimes' hot finish to the season on Philadelphia's depleted roster and his increased role, he's looked pretty good to start this season. He's averaging 17.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 1.0 steals per game, shooting 47% from the field and 39.7% from deep in an average of 31 minutes off the bench.
Sixers benefited from Nico Harrison's poor decision-making
Grimes was part of what was a painfully slow restricted free agency this summer. He eventually accepted his one-year, $8.7 million qualifying offer after he didn't get the offer he wanted, so he'll become an unrestricted free agent next offseason. Dallas might be thankful that it dodged dealing with Grimes' restricted free agency, but still, that doesn't justify letting him go for Martin.
The Mavericks forward is averaging 1.6 points and 1.4 rebounds per game this season, shooting 31.3% from the field and 20% from three in 9.1 minutes.
Harrison told Tim Cato of DLLS Sports after the trade that the Mavericks "valued" Martin more. He pointed out that Philadelphia also received a second-round pick in return, but that was only after the two sides agreed to amend the trade following concerns about Martin's hip. Harrison was willing to send the Sixers a second-round pick for Grimes without receiving any draft capital.
Even with Philly attaching a second-round pick to Martin, there is no debate about who won that trade.
Thanks again, Nico!