Mavericks deserve to be exposed for horrendous bet on nearly identical players

However bad the Dallas Mavericks and Nico Harrison's Luka Doncic trade was, many Mavericks fans would argue that Dallas' Quentin Grimes trade was an even worse value proposition, even if it won't have as severe long-term ramifications as the Doncic trade. At least in the Doncic trade, Dallas got a superstar big man back in Anthony Davis as well as an intriguing young role player in Max Christie, but in the Grimes trade, Dallas got an older 3-and-D wing in Caleb Martin in exchange for Grimes and a 2025 second-round pick, which ultimately ended up being Johni Broome.

Grimes immediately took off with the Philadelphia 76ers after being traded from the Mavericks, proving he can be a 20-5-5 guy at a very efficient clip. The Mavericks lauded Grimes as a role player who wasn't worthy of a contract extension, but even if his role gets diminished because Philadelphia is more healthy next season, he's certainly more of a high-level role player than Dallas gave him credit for, as he was playing like an All-Star toward the tail end of last season and flashed that shot creation potential in Dallas.

Dallas brought in Grimes through the Tim Hardaway Jr. trade in an attempt to upgrade the Josh Green spot, as Dallas sign-and-traded Green to the Charlotte Hornets in their acquisition of Klay Thompson last summer.

Mavericks thought Grimes could be a better Green — now both are gone

However, in just the span of about eight months, Dallas lost both Grimes and Green via trade, and it makes matters even worse that Dallas was extremely smart to snag Grimes in lieu of Green, yet traded Grimes because they didn't accurately project how talented he is.

Green shot well from outside with the Hornets last season, but his efficiency from a shot creation perspective dipped while being surrounded by less talent in Charlotte. Green could still shape out to be an elite role player one day, but with him and Grimes both being from the same draft class and being the same archetype of player, it's clear who has shown more potential up to this juncture in their respective careers.

Mavericks fans were always pining for Green to become more fluid offensively and less hesitant, as he'd show flashes of becoming a three-level scorer, but could never do so consistently. In Grimes' case, it's clear he's been working on expanding his game every year since coming to the league, and he got a bad wrap due to injuries in the season before he came to Dallas, yet he proved he could be the type of player Dallas could rely upon to take a more expansive role once they traded Doncic.

Harrison, of course, decided to trade Grimes away just days later, and now the Mavericks truly don't have any type of players that can replicate Grimes or even Green's skillset. The closest thing Dallas has to this type of player is Christie, as Christie may even be the best mid-range shooter out of these three guys, but he's definitely not the same level of athlete or defender that Green or Grimes is, and that will be the challenge Christie attempts to take on next season for Dallas.