With just one game remaining for the Dallas Mavericks Summer League squad in Las Vegas, the Mavericks are approaching the home stretch of the NBA offseason, as any substantial news around the league will come few and far between compared to the start of the offseason. This means there will be plenty of time for Mavericks fans to analyze all the moves that have happened since February 1 under an increased microscope, as it's been a nonstop rollercoaster for this Mavericks team ever since they traded Luka Doncic.
Perhaps the second most scrutinized move general manager Nico Harrison has made in his time in Dallas was the trade he made just days after Doncic, as Harrison traded away Quentin Grimes and the No. 35 pick in this most recent draft (Johni Broome) for Caleb Martin and a future second-round pick that was added later. While Harrison and the Mavericks did this for financial reasons, as they wanted to avoid having to re-sign Grimes this summer (could've taken them over the second apron) with him expected to command somewhere north of the full MLE on an annual basis, the Mavericks and their coaches whiffed on their evaluation of Grimes.
Grimes was proving to be a versatile 3-and-D guard while in Dallas, and he showcased some three-level scoring ability that was very promising. Lo and behold, Grimes ends up averaging over 20/5/5 for the Philadelphia 76ers on great efficiency to close the season, as the 25-year-old fully hit his stride as a player in a role with increased opportunity.
Mavericks coaches didn't value Quentin Grimes long-term
Dallas chose to extend Jaden Hardy over Grimes last fall, as Tim MacMahon recently confirmed on the Hoop Collective podcast that Dallas was trying to extend Grimes on a number similar to what Naji Marshall got last summer from Dallas. While this obviously caused a holdout and prompted Dallas to extend a cheaper player in Hardy, Grimes would've fit the Mavericks far better to close the season once Doncic was shipped out, as he's the type of shot creator, playmaker, and point-of-attack defender that would've been good enough to avoid looking for a stopgap guard this summer and is young enough to march into the Cooper Flagg era with.
MacMahon even went as far as to say Dallas' coaches didn't value Grimes long-term, whereas some coaches did have their reservations about Doncic getting traded. It'd be one thing if Dallas' coaches liked Grimes and knew the front office simply couldn't afford him, but for Dallas' coaching staff to not value Grimes long-term is a terrible value proposition. Throwing away what Grimes did for the 76ers to close the season, he showed plenty of signs of becoming that type of player while in Dallas, and he was arguably playing the most integral role he ever had for a contender in his NBA career.
While getting off Tim Hardaway Jr. was a major reason Grimes was even brought to Dallas in the first place, the Mavericks undoubtedly should've tried a little harder in their contract negotiations with him, as Grimes projects to be the type of high-level starter that a Norman Powell is, for instance, as Grimes continues to dive into his prime. The Mavericks' talent valuation of Grimes was terrible, and that was reflected in the return package they got for him. It makes absolutely no sense why Dallas had to give up their 2025 second-round pick to get this deal done.
While Dallas may have had less leverage with Grimes at the trade deadline, it still behooves fans that they couldn't get a better return package for a young player with so much promise, and this trade will continue to be one of Harrison's worst marks on his track record throughout his tenure as general manager.
