ESPN just exposed why Mavericks' trade deadline disaster keeps getting worse

The Dallas Mavericks followed up the Luka Doncic trade by trading Quentin Grimes to the Philadelphia 76ers at last year's trade deadline, and this trade just keeps looking worse for Dallas. Grimes has taken his game to another level for the Sixers since Tyrese Maxey went down with a finger injury, and ESPN just reminded the Mavericks and their fans how bad the Caleb Martin-Grimes swap has turned out for Dallas.

Tim Bontemps, Tim MacMahon, and Brian Windhorst discussed Grimes' ascension in Monday's episode of "Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective," and the Mavericks may never be able to escape the nightmare of the 2024 trade deadline. Doncic going on a tear for the Los Angeles Lakers lately was already bad enough; Grimes doing the same thing in Philadelphia adds salt to the wound.

ESPN highlights Grimes' breakout surge in Philly

"Can I just point out, that recent Mavericks trade piece, Quentin Grimes, is putting up humongous numbers since Tyrese Maxey went down," Windhorst said.

"He's put up humongous numbers from basically the moment he got to Philadelphia last year," Bontemps added.

To add insult to injury, MacMahon chimed in, joking that the Grimes trade was "the second-worst trade of Nico's final deadline," of course, alluding to the fact that the Doncic trade is obviously worse.

Grimes is taking advantage of his opportunity with Maxey out

Since Maxey got injured on March 7, Grimes is averaging 22.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 0.9 steals per game while shooting 46.3 percent from the field on nearly 17 shots per game. He is carrying a much heavier offensive load than he is used to with Maxey out of the lineup, and just as he did last year, he's proving that Dallas should've never moved on when they did.

Grimes has helped lead the Sixers to wins in four of their last five games, and he dropped at least 25 points in all five of these wins. He has been one of the better bench players in the Eastern Conference all season long, and while Grimes is dominating for Philly, the player he was traded for, Caleb Martin, has been on the bench in Dallas.

Dallas' return for Grimes isn't even playing right now

Martin is currently dealing with right heel soreness, which was previously described as right plantar fascia soreness, and he hasn't played since March 15.

Unfortunately, his time in Dallas has been filled with injuries, and he may never be able to back up Nico Harrison's decision to give up Grimes to bring him in. Martin has been much better this season compared to last, as he was playing the best basketball of his Mavs career earlier in 2026, but he still hasn't panned out to be the player the team expected.

Dallas' pain that comes along with giving up on Grimes as a 23-year-old is only poised to grow if he keeps dominating for the Sixers, and ESPN's conversation about him serves as a painful reminder about what could've been.