Mavericks' brutal summer cut just backfired even more thanks to division rival

Nico Harrison had to make some tough decisions last offseason before this season. One of them was cutting former Dallas Mavericks forward Olivier-Maxence Prosper to re-sign Dante Exum. It's safe to say that blew up in Harrison's face. With Exum now not being on a team after being waived by the Washington Wizards, the Mavericks have been caught in a double whammy by allowing Prosper to go to the Memphis Grizzlies and getting rid of him.

Prosper just signed a two-year contract with the Grizzlies, proving his worth in the short time of his increased minutes. At the time he was signed on Wednesday morning, Prosper had recorded 14.0 points on 67.5 percent shooting in 24.3 minutes over the last nine contests. The Grizzlies have been injured for the majority of the season, but that doesn't take away from what Prosper has done.

Prosper deserves every bit of this moment. He's worked his way from the ground up, and Mavs fans are wondering what could've been if Harrison picked the right player to build with this season. He clearly picked wrong.

O-Max Prosper's new contract is more proof Mavs made the wrong move

Prosper has been thriving post-All-Star break. Mavs fans got to see firsthand how much Prosper has grown since he left Dallas. Last Friday night, the former Marquette forward finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds, and three steals in a win against his former team. He's emerging at the perfect time, and Dallas got a front row ticket to see what they are now missing.

Exum was a key bench player at one point. He's a combo guard with elite perimeter defense, and he's a decent shooter when he needs to be. His efforts will be missed, but those efforts were short-lived. His injuries will be what he's remembered by.

The Grizzlies made the move at the right time, as Prosper's come-up has been building for quite a while.

Why the Mavs talked themselves into cutting Olivier-Maxence Prosper

It took Prosper a while in Dallas to catch on to the NBA scene, which is understandable. But after Cooper Flagg was drafted as the top overall pick to potentially become the next LeBron James, it spelled the end of Prosper's time as a Maverick. It wasn't necessarily fair for Prosper, but the small forward and power forward positions were going to be too congested for him to keep a spot.

Prosper played some respectable minutes when the Mavs had nowhere to turn, but his jump shot still needed work. He's always had an athletic build with great length to defend on the perimeter, but in this league, most of everybody can shoot. He didn't prove that, but he's finding his confidence now by driving and rebounding the ball.

Little did we know that the Mavs were going to be this injured. Not only that, but the guy that Harrison gambled with ended up getting traded to the Wizards and cut. This proves that O-Max had the last laugh by getting a contract to further jump-start his young career less than a year after the Mavs punted on him.

Good for O-Max and the Grizzlies. He's not having the season his team imagined, but he's making Harrison look worse by the week.