Mavericks' regret in Caleb Martin trade grows by the minute

Nico Harrison's worst decision as the Dallas Mavericks' GM was, by far, sending Luka Dončić to the Lakers. He made a few other questionable moves during his years in Dallas, including one after the Dončić trade, when he traded Quentin Grimes to the Sixers for Caleb Martin. It could never get worse than the Dončić trade, but Harrison managed to torment Mavericks fans even more.

Grimes was on another level in the second half of the 2024-25 season, but that was for a depleted Philadelphia squad that didn't have anything to play for. Or that's what Dallas fans told themselves. After Grimes and the Sixers didn't agree to an extension before the season, he signed his $8.7 million qualifying offer. Not having to deal with his restricted free agency fiasco made Mavericks fans feel better, but that was before Grimes proved that last season was no fluke.

He's averaging 16.8 points, 4.1 assists, 3.5 rebounds, and 0.9 steals per game, shooting 46.2% from the field and 39.4% from three (on 6.4 attempts per game) in 32 minutes across 16 contests. His minutes-per-game average is higher than Martin's field-goal percentage, 30.8%. It's also over three times higher than Martin's minutes-per-game average, 9.6.

Martin is averaging 1.5 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 0.9 assists per game in 16 contests. He's shooting 11.1% from three.

If there were a time machine out there that'd allow the Mavericks to go back in time and undo their disastrous trade mistakes, fans would've found it by now, for the sake of bringing Dončić back to Dallas. They'd also try to get Grimes back, too.

The Quentin Grimes-Caleb Martin trade was a disaster for the Mavericks

After the trade, Harrison said that Dallas valued Martin more than Grimes. Keep in mind that the Mavericks traded for Martin, even though he was out with a hip injury. They also agreed to send the Sixers a second-round pick in addition to Grimes. It wasn't until Martin failed his physical that Philadelphia agreed to also send a second-round pick to Dallas with him.

Harrison's opinion doesn't matter anymore. He'd probably still try to spin the trade into a positive for the Mavericks, even though there'd be no evidence to support his claims. It's been that bad.

Martin was averaging 9.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.1 steals per game in 30.4 minutes across 31 games for the Sixers before he got hurt, shooting 43.5% from the field and 37.9% from three. It's not like Martin was an unproven NBA player. He averaged 10 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game during the 2023-24 season in Miami, his final season with the Heat.

Whatever vision it was that Harrison used as his motivation for the trade will never come true. Martin won't help the Mavericks win a championship. He hasn't looked anything like the player he used to be. It's almost as if Dallas never should've traded for him in the first place, knowing he was hurt.