Nico Harrison’s decision to move Quentin Grimes out of Dallas is looking even rougher now that the guard has landed a four-year, $60 million deal with the Lakers.
The latest twist only adds to a mess that started in February 2025, when Harrison’s tenure as Mavericks general manager began to unravel after he traded Luka Doncic to Los Angeles for Anthony Davis. The shock of that move hit hard in Dallas, and Harrison was ultimately fired that November.
Not long after sending Doncic away, Harrison also shipped Grimes and a second-round pick to Philadelphia in exchange for Caleb Martin. At the time, Harrison defended the move by saying, "We valued Caleb more so, and we also got a second-round pick back."
That call aged badly. Grimes took off in Philadelphia, putting up 21.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.5 assists across 28 games that season.
Martin, meanwhile, barely made an impact in Dallas. He appeared in just 24 games and struggled to get consistent run under head coach Jason Kidd.
Now Grimes is headed back into the orbit of Doncic after agreeing to join the Purple and Gold, where he’ll team up with the former Mavericks star in Los Angeles. He’s also part of a growing list of ex-Dallas players there, alongside Doncic, Maxi Kleber, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Walker Kessler.
The Lakers have essentially pieced together a version of Harrison’s old Mavericks roster, while Dallas is still left sorting through the fallout. The timing makes it sting even more, with LeBron James officially moving on after eight seasons in Los Angeles and leaving before the 2026-27 campaign. Grimes’ deal wasn’t directly connected to LeBron’s free agency, but it fits the broader Lakers push to reshape the roster around Doncic as the new centerpiece.
For Dallas, the missed chance hurts too. Once Grimes became a free agent, the Mavericks could have tried to bring him back on a manageable deal to help address their shaky three-point shooting. That option is gone now, and the whole sequence makes Harrison’s roster moves look worse than ever.
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