Quentin Grimes' revenge on former team proves that the 76ers made the right decision

Heading into the Philadelphia 76ers’ 130-125 win over the Dallas Mavericks this afternoon, each team had at least nine players sidelined due to injury. With each team severely undermanned and their hopes for the postseason vanquished, the victor of this matchup seemed highly uncertain. Still, there was one feat that was certain to be accomplished – Quentin Grimes’ hunger for revenge on his former team.

On February 4th, Dallas shipped off Grimes along with their 2025 second-round pick to Philadelphia in exchange for Caleb Martin. Today marked the first meeting between these two teams since that trade and Grimes made a resounding effort to remind the Mavericks of his talent. He led the 76ers in scoring with 28 points on 61% true-shooting, six assists, and two steals. The only unfortunate aspect of Grimes’ performance was that he couldn’t give Nico Harrison a lengthy staredown. 

Eleven of Grimes’ 28 points came in the third quarter where he aggressively knifed through Dallas’ defense to finish at the rim. The 24-year-old found great success operating off pick-and-rolls where he either shredded through the Mavericks’ back-line for strong layups – as evidenced by his 6-9 shooting from the foul line –  or collapsed the defense to generate open shots for his teammates.

Why the 76ers clearly won the Quentin Grimes trade

If Grimes’ performance proved anything, it’s that the 76ers won this trade – at least for the rest of the season. Since arriving in Philadelphia, he has led it in points, assists, steals, and three-pointers – averaging 19.9 points per game, five rebounds per game, 2.5 threes made per game, and 1.5 steals per game. 

On the flip side, Martin has appeared in just five of 19 available games for Dallas due to a right hip strain. He hasn’t been able to notch more than eight points in his brief Mavericks tenure. To add more salt to Mavericks fans’ wounds, Luka Doncic and Grimes have totaled north of 315 points since the February 6th NBA trade deadline while their leading scorer is yet to crack 300 points.  

One advantage that Dallas does have is its payroll. After this season, Grimes will enter restricted free agency while Martin will still have three seasons left on his four-year/$35 million contract – the team-friendly deal that the 76ers offered him this past offseason. Still, Philadelphia holds Grimes’ bird rights – meaning that it can retain him at essentially any cost. With Grimes’ late-season breakout, the 76ers will likely go to great lengths to re-sign him.

While Daryl Morey has faced great adversity due to Philadelphia’s nightmarish season, acquiring Grimes proved to be arguably the best transaction of his tenure as President of Basketball Operations – aside from selecting Tyrese Maxey in the 2020 NBA Draft. Landing Grimes could potentially help Morey remain in power if the 76ers search for someone to take the blame for yet another disappointing year.