As the Dallas Mavericks get healthier, they're looking to push for a number 10 seed in the Western Conference, as players on the Mavs have already made it clear that tanking is not an option, or never was, for that matter.
The biggest mistake, of course, is going back to the night of February 1, when Nico Harrison traded Luka Doncic in the middle of the night for Anthony Davis. While it was widely perceived as the most unexpected trade in sports history, Harrison made another move a few days later to trade Quentin Grimes for Caleb Martin.
Grimes has been thriving with the 76ers, putting him some of his best numbers of his NBA career. Of course, the Mavs have had awful luck on trading guys just to have them strive to new heights elsewhere, like Steve Nash. While Mavs fans miss Grimes for his shot-creating skills and hard work, the trade for his new successor isn't going as well.
Mavericks are paying the price for betting on an injured Caleb Martin
The day Grimes was traded for Martin, a lot of Mavs fans had their heads scratching as to why Harrison would trade a young guard for a veteran forward. Grimes was shooting at a high clip at around 40 percent from beyond the arc during his time in Dallas. The reaction to the trade was perceived as negative, as Harrison just got rid of another young, upcoming piece in a span of a few days.
Martin, as a veteran 3-and-D player with playoff experience, has barely played in a Maverick uniform due to injuries. The first time he did, Martin was timid to shoot shots that he normally didn't used to think twice about. Even in that first game, Martin was on a minutes restriction, so while it's not fair to blast his game entirely, he did have more chances to contribute when he needed to.
Martin has only played five games in a Dallas uniform, while Grimes has played in 21 and has looked absolutely remarkable. This is not a knock on Martin specifically, but more so on Harrison as to why he thought this trade would be a solid idea.
You could never have too many 3-and-D wings on your basketball team, as Martin is a perfect example of that. The Mavs have barely moved the needle with Martin and gave up a young piece in Grimes, who was looking to get better at perimeter defense as he matured.
This is unfortunately just another blunder by Harrison and the Mavs organization in regards to the direction of the team, which has already gone very far south, but this Martin-Grimes trade is just another example of such a flop. Martin not being available proves how bad this trade was, and his injury history is not something to skim over. Harrison knew what he was getting himself into, as Martin was injured when they traded for him, and trading for a player who was already injured when the Mavericks are one of the most injured teams in the NBA this season makes zero sense.
