76ers get last laugh in Quentin Grimes trade after Play-In disaster

Throughout the year, Philadelphia 76ers fans have criticized Daryl Morey for a series of moves such as signing Paul George to a four-year maximum deal, giving Joel Embiid a maximum contract extension, and filling out their roster with unproductive veteran players. However, there was one trade that took place days before the NBA trade deadline that fans and media alike felt that the 76ers easily won. This notion was proven following the Dallas Mavericks’ elimination from postseason contention by the hand of the Memphis Grizzlies.

The infamous trade

On February 4th, Philadelphia dealt Caleb Martin and a 2030 second-round pick to Dallas in exchange for Quentin Grimes and a 2025 second-round pick, which was determined to be the 35th overall pick in the upcoming draft. This move shortly came after the Mavericks shockingly traded a package headlined by Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for a haul most notably including Anthony Davis. There truly isn’t an adjective or clever follow-up sentence to describe the absurdity and unpredictability of this trade. 

The 76ers signed Martin to a four-year/$32 million contract last summer with hopes that he’d slot in at power forward and be the formidable “3&D” forward who could up his production in the postseason as he did during the Miami Heat’s run to the NBA Finals in 2023. However, that vision didn’t pan out as Martin played in just 34 of 48 possible games during his brief 76ers tenure. He was impacted by lingering injuries to his shoulder, hip, and groin, which tossed him in and out of the lineup.

On the day of the trade, Philadelphia sported a 19-29 record as its top-end talent was ransacked by injuries. Due to this, the 76ers had to rely on their rotational veteran players to up their production to keep them afloat, which didn’t work out. Philadelphia realized it needed to inject more youth into the roster, especially since it was on the brink of a Play-In Tournament berth or the NBA Draft Lottery. As a result, the 76ers acquired Grimes, who is not only five years younger than Martin but a far better offensive player and on the same tier defensively. 

Meanwhile, for Dallas, Nico Harrison blasted the cliche saying “defense wins championships” as his rationale for trading a generational offensive talent in Doncic. The Mavericks valued defense to such a degree that they were willing to part with Grimes to snag Martin, whom they believed to be a better fit for their defensive-oriented core surrounding Davis and Kyrie Irving.

How did it work out for each team?

“I think it worked out for both teams,” Harrison said. “It worked out for [Grimes]. He's in a free-agent situation, so we got to go to a team where he could shoot all the balls and really display his offense. And for us, we weren't interested in that. We were interested in how he could help us win games. And we had the opportunity to get Caleb, which the opportunity only afforded itself because Anthony Davis, he gave us that ability, because he had a trade clause, a trade kicker, and he opted out of that. And so that gave us the room to be able to do that,” via DLLS Sports.

Harrison was right about one thing – Grimes did shoot all the balls during his 28-game tenure in Philadelphia. He averaged 21.9 points per game on 59.2% true-shooting, 5.2 rebounds per game, 4.5 assists per game, and 1.5 steals per game during his time with the 76ers. Each of those marks is career-best for Grimes aside from his efficiency. On top of that, he eclipsed 40 points twice during this stretch – including a career-high 46 points in Philadelphia’s 144-137 overtime loss to the Houston Rockets on March 17th.

Meanwhile, Martin continued to be plagued by a right hip strain that prevented him from playing his last 12 games with the 76ers. Martin appeared in just 14 games for Dallas this season and never finished with over nine points during his underwhelming tenure. His offensive limitations were magnified during the Mavericks’ two Play-In Tournament games where he went scoreless on both occasions despite playing at least 10 minutes in each contest. 

With Philadelphia and Dallas eliminated from playoff contention, it’s safe to say that Philadelphia is the clear winner of the trade that took place three months ago. Grimes’ late-season breakout with the 76ers paralleled with arguably the worst stretch of Martin’s career has proven to be the final nail in the coffin of what was a catastrophic season for the Mavericks that will be talked about with shame and disbelief for decades to come.