Mavericks' controversial Quentin Grimes trade finally has a surprising silver lining

While the Dallas Mavericks' Luka Doncic trade will probably go down as the most controversial trade in NBA history, Nico Harrison's other move at the trade deadline may have been an even worse value proposition, as Harrison traded an electric up-and-coming two-way guard in Quentin Grimes for Caleb Martin and the 35th pick in this past draft (ended up becoming Johni Broome).

Grimes had an excellent close to the season for the Philadelphia 76ers, but after failing to reach a contract extension with Dallas before last season, he entered restricted free agency this offseason and became one of the best young guards on the open market. However, Grimes has suffered from a lack of suitors willing to offer him a big payday thus far into the free agency cycle.

Recent rumors would indicate Grimes will re-sign with the 76ers on a new deal or take the $8.7 million qualifying offer to play this season and become an unrestricted free agent next season, but it's a bit surprising to see his name on the board as of July 8 still.

Mavericks should be thrilled Grimes hasn't signed in free agency yet

From the Mavericks' perspective, they are probably elated Grimes hasn't reached a deal yet, as Dallas' front office's decision to trade Grimes was predicated on the fact that Dallas would have to go well past the second apron just to re-sign him, and teams are increasingly wary of crossing that threshold if they aren't 100 percent sure they are bonafide contenders because of some of the harsh tax penalizations in this new CBA.

It's without a doubt Grimes could've largely mitigated Dallas' need for a stopgap guard, especially if he was as efficient of a three-level scorer as he was for the 76ers last season. After showing a lot of promise as a versatile two-way guard in Dallas, Grimes went on to average 21.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.5 steals per game in 28 contests for the 76ers last season.

Even though Grimes was oftentimes the lead ball handler for a 76ers team that was injury-riddled and non-competitive at that juncture in the season, he was still very efficient and kept his turnovers per game under 3.0. Grimes only turned 25 years old a little over two months ago as well, and while he may not necessarily be a tried-and-true point guard, Dallas probably could've run with him, Brandon Williams, and Dante Exum in their guard rotation until Kyrie Irving returns from injury.

He would've provided great youth and continuity for a Mavericks team that is somewhat lacking in both of those departments, but if Dallas wasn't sure he'd a good enough player to warrant breaking their payroll for, then it's at least smart that Harrison accrued value for him instead of losing him for nothing from another team signing him to an offer sheet in restricted free agency.

One thing Mavericks fans will likely to continue to be angry over is the fact that Dallas' return for Grimes has been lackluster up to this point, as Martin wasn't even healthy to start his Dallas tenure and looked like a shell of himself in the few games he played down the stretch of the season for the Mavericks, barring a few promising moments of some stellar point-of-attack defense.

By no stretch have the Mavericks won the Grimes trade, and Harrison should've found a better offer that didn't include trading for an already injured player at the time, but the optics of this situation are looking slightly better with Grimes still having not come to a new deal with the 76ers or elsewhere yet, and this is a silver lining Mavs fans can hold onto for now.