Nico Harrison is no longer with the Dallas Mavericks, but the mistakes that he made during his time as GM still hover over the franchise. The Luka Dončić trade is the worst, but it’s not the only one. Not long after the Mavericks sent Dončić to LA, they traded Quentin Grimes to the Sixers for Caleb Martin.

Harrison said that Dallas valued Martin more than Grimes. The Mavericks made the trade, although at the time, Martin was injured. He hadn’t played in nearly a month when Dallas traded for him. To make matters worse, the Mavericks could’ve voided the trade after Martin’s physical, but instead, Dallas was content with Philadelphia adding a second-round pick to the deal.

Martin made his Dallas debut on March 7, and by the time the regular season ended a month later, he had played 14 games. He averaged 5.4 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game, shooting 38.9% from the field and 25% from three in 19.6 minutes per contest.

Fans hoped the 2025-26 season would be different after an offseason when Martin had time to rest and recover, but that hasn’t been the case. It’s been really ugly.

He’s averaging 1.2 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game, shooting 23.5% from the field and 9.1% from deep in 9.4 minutes across 20 contests. In 13 of those games, Martin didn’t score at all. He hasn’t scored in a game since Nov. 22, when he had two points in the loss to the Grizzlies.

Caleb Martin trade continues to look worse for the Mavericks

Including this season, Martin has three years left on the contract he signed in 2024 with the Sixers. He has a $9.4 million player option in the 2027-28 season. That is still a ways away, but based on how he’s looked, you can go ahead and assume he’ll pick that up.

The Feb. 5 trade deadline is almost exactly two months away, and Dallas needs to see whether there is a team willing to take on Martin and his contract. It’s not working out for him and the Mavericks whatsoever. Knowing Dallas’ luck, he’ll end up on a new team and look like the player he was in Miami.

The Mavericks are past the point of trying to make this trade work. They would’ve been better off keeping Grimes, even with his restricted free agency situation this past summer. The half-season he spent in Dallas was far better than the 34 games that Martin played in between the end of last season and the first quarter of this season. Grimes has been an asset for the Sixers, too.

Thanks again, Nico!