Grade the Trade: Mavs land 3-and-D wing from 76ers, lose potential-packed youngster
It’s been a slow-moving clock for Dallas Mavericks fans for the past 60 hours after witnessing arguably the most unexpected, on Saturday night when Dallas traded Luka Doncic, Markieff Morris, and Maxi Kleber to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a first-round pick.
Mavs GM Nico Harrison’s reasoning to trade away Luka Doncic to get Anthony Davis was to emphasize defense. The Mavs roster does have more defensive firepower, but fans are still in awe about Harrison’s decision to trade away one of the greatest offensive playmakers the NBA has ever seen.
The Mavs front office wasn’t done making moves, as another Mavericks trade in which they traded away one of their young guards for a veteran forward.
Grading the trade that sent Grimes to Philadelphia for Martin
After a ginormous roar that’s still leaving Mavs fans stunned, the Mavs front office wasn’t done making moves.
While it seems like nobody is safe in the NBA now, Quentin Grimes was a name that was whose position might’ve not been safe after the stunning Doncic move considering his similarities to Christie’s game.
Mavs fans’ suspicion came true on Tuesday afternoon as Dallas agreed to a trade with the Philadelphia 76ers.
The 76ers acquired Quentin Grimes and their own 2025 second-round pick from Dallas. The Mavericks acquired Caleb Martin.
Harrison made it clear that he is emphasizing defense in Sunday’s press conference, and this move looks to give the Mavericks more teeth in that area, but a continuing theme for Harrison is getting older guys to Dallas.
Grading the trade for the Philadelphia 76ers
This is a great piece for the Sixers to help with young depth around Tyrese Maxey.
Grimes has shot at a high clip throughout his brief stint with Dallas and has the same potential to do the same with Philadelphia.
Grimes was in the middle of some of his best stuff with Dallas, shooting at nearly 40 percent from beyond the arc, and helping Dallas’ scoring by averaging 10.2 points a game. His athleticism on the defensive side for some of the big names around the NBA.
He steps up on defense in big moments, and his offensive game has grown significantly over the last few months.
With the 76ers having major injury issues this year, this is a great shot for Grimes to show head coach Nick Nurse what he’s all about.
Philadelphia 76ers
Grading the trade for the Dallas Mavericks
This is become a pattern of Harrison to let go of young talent.
Grimes was playing some of the best basketball of his career in Dallas, and including Philadelphia’s second-round pick in this deal was questionable, especially considering how bad they’ve been this season. That pick could end up being in the 30s, and that would have been the perfect opportunity for Dallas to add more young talent.
Martin can be a valuable piece for spacing, perimeter defense, and shooting, but at 29 years old, it seems like the Mavericks are all of a sudden aging faster than ever before with these trades. Grimes is also shooting better than Martin from the field, the 3-point line, and the free throw line, so it’s going to have to be Martin’s energy to make up for that.
Martin knows what’s like to win on the biggest stage. He was one of the most important pieces on the eighth-seed Miami Heat team that advanced all the way to the NBA Finals in 2023.
As for his future here, Martin is under contract for this season and next season before having a player option. His minutes this season will be important for the Mavs to push into the playoffs, and he could end up having a major role.
Martin provides a 3-and-D presence that they could explore with Max Christie, but Martin also provides playoff presence for a team that just went all chips in for a championship or bust.
