Mavericks' regret for Quentin Grimes trade is growing by leaps and bounds

If you thought the Quentin Grimes trade couldn't look any worse for the Dallas Mavericks, think again! He dropped 18 points on 4-of-7 shooting from three in 24 minutes for the Sixers to push their first-round series against the Celtics to a Game 6.

Grimes came back down to Earth this season for the Sixers after going on a tear to end 2024-25 after the Mavericks sent him to Philly for Caleb Martin. Dallas took the L on that trade immediately, and that's still the case, though they might've tried to convince themselves otherwise during his restricted free agency last offseason.

He signed his $8.7 million qualifying offer, betting on himself after the Sixers didn't give him the contract he thought he deserved. Grimes had some inconsistent stretches during the regular season, and the same was true in Philadelphia's first three games against Boston.

Grimes started to flip a switch in Game 4 (12 points, 6 assists, 2 rebounds, 1 block, and 1 steal) and built off that momentum in Game 5 for his playoff career-high. The guard helped hold the Celtics to just 11 fourth-quarter points.

Mavericks never should've traded Quentin Grimes for Caleb Martin

Meanwhile, Dallas is stuck with Caleb Martin, who has a $9.3 million player option for next season that he will most likely exercise. He averaged only 3.9 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 14.8 minutes across 58 games (12 starts) during the regular season. The concerns about his injuries continue to grow.

It feels like, at this point, things aren't going to get much better with Martin, and even if they do, not to the point where Dallas would ever be satisfied with the trade.

Losing Grimes isn't the main Nico Harrison blunder that the Mavericks would like to undo, but it ranks up there. It didn't make sense to begin with, since Dallas traded for Martin when he was already injured, a sign of what was to come.

The Mavericks could try to right that wrong this summer by making a run at Grimes, who will be an unrestricted free agent. The Sixers will make a strong push to keep him, but he may want to go somewhere where he can play a larger role. He may harbor some resentment toward Philly for how his RFA negotations went last offseason.

If Grimes does, he may not be that high on the idea of returning to Dallas, but it's worth a shot.

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