The past few years have not been good for Tim Hardaway Jr. Jason Kidd and the Dallas Mavericks have allowed younger guys to have more minutes which meant that the veteran eventually fell out of the rotation. The addition of Kyrie Irving along with the constant rise of Luka Doncic also did not help him at all. Now, it looks like he spent his final years with them and could be ready to move. A squad that would love to have him is the Washington Wizards.
There have been a lot of suitors knocking on the Mavericks' door for Tim Hardaway Jr. He has reportedly drawn the interest of the Los Angeles Lakers, and Detroit Pistons. The latest contender in trying to acquire him surfaced — the Wizards, per Marc Stein.
A lot of this has to do with the great relationship that the Mavericks and Wizards front office has. They just recently worked together during the trade deadline. Daniel Gafford was traded for Richaun Holmes and the 2024 first-round pick which originated from the Oklahoma City Thunder. So, this partnership could spill over to the offseason with Hardaway Jr. as the main trade asset that the Mavericks need to let go of.
After all, the veteran could still produce solid numbers given the right minutes. He notched 14.4 points on a 40.2% clip from all three levels of scoring when the Luka Doncic-led squad still used him a lot. His three-point acumen is also still alive and strong. Those shots from beyond the arc are still seeing the bottom of the net 35.3% of the time.
Not to mention, the biggest asset that he has over any other player is his durability. Hardaway Jr. played in 79 games for Jason Kidd's Mavericks last season. He was able to constantly produce for them despite having meager minutes.
The big reason why the Mavericks player could be heading to the Wizards
Jason Kidd and the Mavericks have made Tim Hardaway Jr.'s role very small. In their NBA Finals clash with the Boston Celtics, he only got to play big minutes during garbage time in their blowout Game 4 victory. Other than that, his production was not fit for the schemes that the Mavericks were running. Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic have just playing a different brand of basketball since then.
In fact, Hardaway Jr.'s production took a big hit after the trade deadline. He only scored 8.6 points on a 35.9% clip. It is by no means great but that number took an ever deeper plunge in the postseason. The Mavericks forward's numbers were nearly cut in half as he only contributed 4.4 points to the squad.
The Mavericks player is not the only one taking issue with all of this. Even his father, the legendary point guard who revolutionized flashy moves in the league, outlined his frustration. One time, the older Hardaway even had this to say in response to a fan claiming that they would trade his son this offseason.
“Yes, they are. We want to have a new opportunity to shine. We didn't like what happened, We are ready to go,” he wrote.
The Wizards do need some veteran guys to surround their very young core. Hopefully, Hardaway Jr. becomes that guy for them
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