When the Dallas Mavericks acquired Tim Hardaway Jr. as part of the Kristaps Porzingis trade, he was mostly regarded as a salary dump. However, the Mavs could not be happier with Hardaway's contributions as the team's starting shooting guard.
In fact, Mavs owner Mark Cuban called Hardaway one of the “top-3 catch-and-shoot” guys in the league (via Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News).
“Don’t sleep on Timmy Hardaway Jr. Timmy has been the biggest surprise,” Mark Cuban told WFAN. “We knew Porzingis was good, but Timmy, now he’s just catch-and-shoot has been lights out. Quickest release in the NBA. Probably one of the top-3 catch-and-shoot players in all of the NBA now. It took a little while. Right after the trade, he wasn’t quite confident of his role and we were asking him to do different things than the Knicks did, but with Luka getting him the ball, it’s just a sight to see.”
Hardaway was averaging 15.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 63 games prior to the suspension of play. The 28-year-old was also shooting a career-high 40.7 percent from beyond the arc, thriving as a floor-spacer alongside Mavs star Luka Doncic.
The Mavs boss might be overselling Hardaway just a bit. On the other hand, the former Michigan star ranks sixth among qualified shooters in catch-and-shoot field goal percentage. He also ranks fourth in catch-and-shoot 3-point percentage, according to NBA.com.
All the same, there is no question Hardaway's improved efficiency has played a massive role in the Mavs becoming one of the most potent offenses in basketball.
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