Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison has been under fire since he traded arguably a top three player in the league, Luka Doncic. Usually, when a player of Doncic caliber is traded, it's because he requested a trade. In this case, Doncic didn't know. To go further, Harrison just traded away another important piece.
Quentin Grimes has been a grinder throughout his career. He was a late first-round pick in 2021 and traded to the New York Knicks on draft day. From there, Tom Thibodeau developed into a solid 3-point shooter and defender where eventually he found himself with the Mavericks to start the season.
This season, Grimes averaged 10.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists on .463/.398/.765 shooting splits for Dallas. For a bench player averaging 22.8 minutes, that is an extremely valuable piece. Except Harrison traded him to the Philadelphia 76ers for Caleb Martin and a second-round pick.
Just a month later, Grimes had the best game of his career, putting up 44 points, six rebounds, one assist, three steals, and one block against the Golden State Warriors. He shot 18-for-24 from the field and 6-for-9 from three. Thus, continuing Harrison string of bad management decisions.
Quentin Grimes is up to 30 points with 9:28 left in the third, he is absolutely cooking
— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) March 2, 2025
Subscribe to The Whiteboard, FanSided’s daily email newsletter on everything basketball. If you like The Whiteboard, share it with a friend! If you don’t like it, share it with an enemy!
The downfall of Nico Harrison
Before this saga, Nico Harrison was in the conversation as one of the best general managers in the league.
The first thing he did once being hired was signing Jason Kidd, who has shown to be one of the best defensive minded and overall coaches in the league. Soon following, he signed a few key free agents, Reggie Bullock and Tim Hardaway Jr., who became important pieces for Dallas the following season.
What may seem questionable now, but at the time was a great move, was trading then center Kristaps Porzingis to the Washington Wizards for Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans. Even though Porzingis is a great player, he wasn't fitting well in Dallas. After the trade, Dallas finished the season 19-7 and eventually made the Western Conference Finals.
In the ensuing offseason, he traded for Christian Wood, who became an eventual sixth man of the year candidate, but he, along with owner Mark Cuban, let Jalen Brunson walk. At the time, Brunson was the No. 2 option and received a contract from the Knicks that seemed to be overpriced. Brunson would outplay his contract and then some, making Harrison look foolish for not keeping him.
In the absence of Brunson, Harrison gave up key role players at the trade deadline in 2023 to acquire Kyrie Irving. When they did the trade, Dallas was the fifth seed but soon fell out of playoff contention because the chemistry between Doncic and Irving had not yet developed, along with the surrounding pieces.
The following offseason saw Harrison make great move after great move. First drafting Derrick Lively Jr., the signing Derrick Jones Jr., Dante Exum, Seth Curry, and trading for Grant Williams.
The team improved, but Harrison had one of the most successful trade deadlines in 2024, first trading Williams and Curry to the Charlotte Hornets for P.J. Washington, and then dealing Richaun Holmes and a first-round pick to the Wizards for Daniel Gafford. From that point on, they were the best team in the NBA and eventually made the NBA Finals.
After losing to the Celtics, Harrison needed to make changes. First, he acquired Klay Thompson in a six-team sign and trade, then traded for Grimes, and signed Naji Marshall to replace Jones jr., who signed with the Los Angeles Clippers.
For the first half of the season, Dallas was one of the best teams in the west, despite Doncic being injured. Then he traded away his cornerstone piece to "win now" with Anthony Davis and another important role player in Grimes.
Since the Doncic trade, Dallas has found themselves falling in the standings as the tenth seed and the Lakers have climbed their way to the two seed.
Somehow, Harrison was fleeced not once but twice.