Mavericks’ trade deadline disaster worsens as youngster explodes into stardom

The Dallas Mavericks snapped their five-game losing streak on Monday night versus the San Antonio Spurs, as the game featured two defenses that lacked rim solid protection which made for a very high octane offensive contest. 

Dallas had to make some tough buckets in order to stay in this game, and to their role players' credit, they stepped up from an offensive creation standpoint all night long. Young wing Kessler Edwards had a career-high 22 points and 11 rebounds, all the while Klay Thompson and Spencer Dinwiddie both gave the Mavericks juice with their prolific outside shot making en route to a 133-129 win.

Naji Marshall continued to display that he is no ordinary role player, even in games like this where he couldn’t get his 3-point shot going, as Marshall had 23 points on 8-16 shooting from the field in an effort that featured a myriad of tough finishes at the rim.

Unfortunately for Mavericks fans though, this game was a huge outlier compared to the onslaught of unfortunate injuries and negative trickle effects from the Luka Doncic trade that they’ve experienced recently.

Mavs' decision to trade Grimes is another all-time blunder by Harrison

These trickle effects are only getting worse too, as Quentin Grimes is proving that the Mavericks gave up on him way too early by showing near All-Star potential for the Philadelphia 76ers lately. Following a 44-point game on March 1, a 30-point game on March 4, and a 25-point game this past Sunday night, Grimes scored 35 points on 14-25 shooting from the field in a loss to the Hawks last night.

Grimes is playing with as much confidence as he ever has in his entire career, and it’s evident he’s motivated in Dallas’ decision to give up on him so early in his tenure with the Mavs. It’s also not like Grimes didn’t prove he could be a capable rotation piece for seasons to come at not even 25 years old yet, as he’s a stellar point-of-attack defender with true three-level scoring ability when he’s in rhythm offensively.

Even if one wants to play devil’s advocate for Nico Harrison deciding to trade Doncic at the deadline, the Grimes-Caleb Martin trade was just as ill-thought out and is hurting the Mavericks badly, even if not near to the level of the Doncic trade. Dallas could desperately use more consistent guard play heading into next season, and while there's some hope Brandon Williams can come along for the Mavericks, Grimes would've helped tremendously in this Irving-less stretch.

Harrison’s decisions made on the eve of the 2025 trade deadline are continuing to appear increasingly overzealous, desperate, and futile, especially given the fact that Grimes is trending toward a potential All-Star or elite role player in the coming seasons considering he likely hasn’t hit his prime yet.

Meanwhile, Martin is just starting to get acclimated into Dallas’ rotation over the past three games after a hip strain kept him sidelined for the first few weeks post-trade. Martin’s been on a minute restriction through his first few games, and while he’s flashed some great versatility as a veteran 3-and-D wing, he hasn’t been that assertive on offense yet and isn’t the type player that will be fully maximized in Dallas’ lineup until they are fully healthy.

Right after the Doncic trade, Grimes played 24 minutes in Dallas’ blowout loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, and there was sort of a feeble sense of hope from die-hard fans that Grimes could elevate in his role and take some of the mantle from a shot creation perspective that Doncic was leaving behind.

However, this wasn’t the case whatsoever, and Dallas traded Grimes and a second rounder for Martin and a worse second rounder. Harrison’s 2025 trade deadline decisions continue to hurt Dallas more and more by the day, and it seems like Doncic tearing it up in Los Angeles could only be the beginning of these woes, as Grimes has been excellent for the Sixers despite their lack of team success.