76ers make $8.7 million decision on former Mavericks guard

The Dallas Mavericks could soon get burned by another midseason trade.

Last season, the Mavericks made one of the most shocking trades in league history, sending Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. However, the deal that secured Anthony Davis and brought numerous “defense wins championships” responses wasn’t the only unfavorable deal Dallas made.

Dallas also sent Quinten Grimes to the Philadelphia 76ers for Caleb Martin in February. While most Mavericks fans were still recovering from the Doncic news, it eventually dawned on them that this was also a potentially lopsided trade.

After making his way to Philadelphia, Grimes was arguably the lone bright spot for the 76ers toward the end of last season. He averaged 21.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists across 28 games with the 76ers after putting up only 10.2 points a night in 47 games in Dallas.

Grimes’ great play to end the season made him a hot name on the free agent market entering this offseason. On Saturday, the Philadelphia 76ers tendered the $8.7 million qualifying offer to Grimes ahead of his restricted free agency, according to a report from Michael Scotto.

While Grimes will likely require much more than that $8.7 million figure this summer, it is still a reminder of the situation that Dallas botched last season. With Dallas in need of guard play this summer, Grimes could have been a perfect fit for the Mavericks, but he’ll be playing basketball elsewhere next season.

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Meanwhile, Dallas only has Martin to show for the deal, and after being injured last season, he appears to be deep on the Mavericks’ depth chart going into 2025-26.