76ers shut down Joel Embiid for season; why it makes a Mavericks trade even worse

Just before the trade deadline, the Mavericks sent Quentin Grimes and a 2025 second-round pick to Philadelphia in exchange for Caleb Martin. The Mavericks managed to change the terms of the trade once they did a physical on Martin and found out his injury was worse than the 76ers were letting on, so the 76ers threw in a 2030 second-round pick. What Dallas should've done is remove the 2025 second-rounder because it was Philadelphia's own second-round pick that Dallas sent back.

The 76ers' first-round pick is projected to go to the OKC Thunder unless it falls within the top six, and they currently have the sixth-best lottery odds with 24 games to play. They're likely going to do whatever it takes to stay within the top six. That means the pick that Dallas gave up is likely to fall somewhere between 34-36 overall in a deep and talented draft class and a player averaging 13.4 PPG, all for a player who has yet to play a game. And Caleb Martin is older and on the same level as Grimes. It was a disaster of a trade overshadowed by the Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis debacle when it first happened, and it's only gotten worse as time passes.