Dallas received Antawn Jamison; Danny Forston; Chris Mills; Jiri Welsch from Golden State Warriors and sent Nick Van Exel; Avery Johnson; Ronald Jones; Antoine Rigaudeau; Evan Eschmeyer in return.
Dallas received Antawn Jamison, Danny Fortson, Chris Mills and Jiri Welsch. Golden State received Nick Van Exel, Avery Johnson, Popeye Jones, Antoine Rigaudeau and Evan Eschmeyer. Those are the directly tied pieces that matter for this retrospective grade; the evaluation does not need hypothetical value from assets the franchises never realized.
Antawn Jamison gives Dallas the narrow realized edge. He won Sixth Man of the Year in Dallas and later became the centerpiece of the Devin Harris/Jerry Stackhouse trade. That evidence is more important than simply counting how many names changed hands, because the grade is meant to measure franchise value actually created by the transaction.
Golden State received useful veteran value, especially through the Van Exel-led package. That keeps the transaction competitive rather than turning it into a one-sided asset loss. Giving the other side full credit for those benefits keeps the verdict proportional instead of turning a clear edge into an exaggerated one.
The B/C+ split matches the available evidence's narrow-margin framing. Dallas received the most consequential player and retained downstream trade value, but Golden State's package was not empty. The letter grades therefore track both the quality of the return and the scale of the gap between the two teams, not just which side technically won.
Mavericks Win. Dallas Mavericks receive B, while Golden State Warriors receive C+. The B/C+ split matches the available evidence's narrow-margin framing. Dallas received the most consequential player and retained downstream trade value, but Golden State's package was not empty. The available evidence itself calls the edge modest. Dallas should win the verdict, but Golden State's useful veteran return is enough to keep the Mavericks out of the top grade tier.