Trade & FA 2025-26: Free Agency Starts 5pm CST/6pm EST

[mvossman]

Which makes you wonder why the Mavs cut bait on Grimes so fast. 

Sure, you could argue they needed more certainty on their books headed into this summer, but there really isn’t any suitor set to overpay him. They could’ve feasibly kept Grimes at 12 mil a year and traded Hardy. 

But in this what if, do the Mavs lose enough games and get Flagg if they keep Grimes?

Disappointing to say the least. I just am not high at all on Martin.

Nico was playing 4D chess!  How to get Cooper Flagg when you are a contender just coming off a finals appearance?

First, you fire the best medical staff in the NBA and hire bozos to replace them (he has been working on this for a while).

Then you trade your generational superstar for a much older injury prone (and currently injuried) star and get fleeced in the process.

Then you shit all over him after the trade further enraging the fan base (this is important)

Then dump Grimes in another fleecing because he might be too good after Luka is gone.

Make sure that Grimes trade gives you a cap excuse not to get reinforcements when the injuries come in droves.

Then you have your shitty medical staff bring back AD early and plan to play him 38 minutes in his first game back.

Then you run Kyrie into the ground since there is no Luka.

And finally scrape into the lottery.

After Nico destroyed a top 5 market contender, enraged the fan base and left it with little assets, the NBA had no choice but to giggle some ping pong balls.  It was pure genius!