Mavericks' blatant Caleb Martin misconception is an absolute joke

The Dallas Mavericks are among the few NBA teams caught at a crossroads with 11 games left in the regular season. With Anthony Davis likely returning to the floor soon, Dallas can choose to be not competitive and rebuild around an extended offseason, or they can fight for a play-in spot and likely sneak in as a 10-seed.

Dallas would no doubt be one of the league's most feared play-in teams assuming they advanced past the Play-In Tournament but the Mavericks are clearly not the contender they once were at the beginning of the season.

While the Mavericks gear up for one of their biggest decisions for the season, Kai Jones has become a name Dallas should look to sign on a full multi-year deal before the regular season ends. In addition to Jones's emergence in Dallas, Brandon Williams has also made major leaps in his game without a healthy Kyrie Irving.

Williams hasn't only emerged as a potential offensive weapon but his underrated defense has exposed a major flaw in the Mavericks' trade for Caleb Martin.

Mavericks overestimated Caleb Martin, and it's costing them

Dallas acquired Caleb Martin in the following days after sending Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. Nico Harrison didn't just botch the Doncic deal, but he also completely missed in the deal for Martin.

Dallas sent Philadelphia a valuable second-round pick and a potential-filled wing in Quentin Grimes who has flourished as a Sixer. Grimes' offensive explosion is not only a punch in the face to fans but to make matters worse, Martin has only played in five games since joining the Mavericks.

In those five games, Martin has disappointed by shooting 16.7 percent from behind the 3-point line and only averaging 4.6 points per game in his limited outings. Martin hasn't just disappointed on the offensive end, but defensively, Martin hasn't been as great as advertised either.

According to NBA insider Marc Stein, Dallas acquired Martin in the hopes that he would lead the team defensively on the perimeter and become a true wing-stopper on the defensive end.

Stein would go on to say on the "DLLS Mavs" podcast that Harrison and the Mavericks' front office liked Martin and that he would become the team's defensive stopper for the playoffs. He also confirmed that Grimes never asked out, making this trade look even worse.

While it has only been a short time, it's easy to see the Mavericks made a huge mistake when thinking Martin had higher value than Grimes and an early second-round draft pick. If fully healthy, Martin would no doubt become one of Dallas' best wing defenders but he isn't even as good as P.J. Washington or Grimes in that area.

Harrison not only created a problem in his head when thinking the Mavs needed more perimeter defense rather than guard help, and the team is suffering without Grimes.

As a member of the Miami Heat, Martin flourished in their run to the NBA Finals a few years ago where he made a name for himself as a knockdown 3-point shooter and a defensive stopper. Two years removed from that playoff run, Martin's time in the league has been largely spent rehabbing nagging injuries.

While Martin's time has been disappointing, it still is early in his tenure as a Mav. Martin will have plenty of time to gain respect from fans and around the league again but it starts with him being healthy and available.