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By Matt Levine
Contributing Sports Writer
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After reaching the NBA Finals this past season, the Dallas Mavericks enter the 2024 offseason looking for a way to get themselves over the hump. Dallas lost the NBA Finals to the Boston Celtics in five games, pretty much being non-competitive for the majority of the series. The Mavericks made it out of the tough Western Conference to reach the series but heading into next season, the West should be even better. If Dallas wants to get back to the finals, the team will need an upgrade.
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Just a day after the NBA Draft, Dallas decided it was time to make the first move of the summer. They traded away long-time guard Tim Hardaway Jr. to the Detroit Pistons for guard Quentin Grimes. Along with Hardaway Jr., the Mavericks are sending three second-round picks to Detroit to offload Hardaway's salary. Detroit is receiving a 2025 second-rounder, originally from the Toronto Raptors, and two 2028 second-round picks.
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Grimes averaged 7.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game, splitting time between the Pistons and New York Knicks. But his numbers don't do him justice, especially after he played only six games with Detroit. Grimes is a decent defender, who has shown the ability to knock down the three-point shot. Before being traded to the Pistons, he shot 36.3 percent from beyond the three-point line, something that the Mavericks will use to the full extent.
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Having a player like Grimes on the team gives the Mavericks another shooter to space the floor alongside stars Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. Hardaway Jr. was also a shooter but his inconsistency was finally too much for Dallas to continue dealing with. Hardaway Jr. was scheduled to make $16.2 million this season, the final year on a four-year contract he originally signed. Grimes will be making $4.3 million in the final year of his rookie contract.
Read more: NBA Free Agency: How A Trade Can Help Mavericks Re-Sign Finals Starter
With this deal, Dallas has positioned itself to re-sign Derrick Jones Jr., a key player in their run to the NBA Finals. Dallas now has part of a $12.9 million nontaxpayer midlevel exception to use with Hardaway Jr. now off the salary cap. Before the deal, they had been limited to the $5.2 taxpayer midlevel exception. While this may be a smaller trade in terms of the surface level, it has big ramifications for how the Mavericks will conduct other business this offseason.
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