Mavs’ Tim Hardaway Jr. Trade is ‘Essentially Up to Cavs’

Tim Hardaway Jr. has turned his season around lately after a slow start. However, he might not remain with the Dallas Mavericks between now and the Feb. 9 trade deadline.

Dalton Trigg | Jan 9, 2023

We are officially one month away from the NBA’s trade deadline on Feb. 9, and rumors are starting to heat up.

Cleveland.com's Chris Fedor recently reported that the Cleveland Cavaliers are “keeping an eye on” Dallas Mavericks veteran shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr.

Late Sunday night, NBA reporter Marc Stein backed up that report with one of his own.

“League sources have reaffirmed to me that Hardaway is indeed available and that it’s essentially up to the Cavaliers if they are prepared to take on the two years and $34.1 million left on Hardaway's contract beyond this season,” Stein wrote in his newsletter.

“Caris LeVert’s expiring $18.8 million contract is the simplest match for Hardaway, who has emerged from a very slow start to shoot 40.5% from 3-point range in 21 games entering Sunday’s play since Mavericks coach Jason Kidd moved him into the starting lineup.”

Hardaway’s situation is tricky, because on one hand, his contract isn’t attractive. On the other hand, though, whether fans like it or not, he’s been a big part of a handful of Mavs wins this season due to his high-volume shooting. When he’s hitting, the Mavs look like contenders. When he’s missing, the Mavs struggle to make up for it.

Trading Hardaway for LeVert would essentially be the same thing the Mavs did with Kristaps Porzingis’ contract last season, which was taking a bigger contract and turning it into something more manageable. LeVert’s expiring contract — and the possibilities that come along with that — might be more attractive to the Mavs than having Hardaway on the books for two more seasons.

Or … perhaps the Mavs, Cavs and Detroit Pistons can come together and work out a three-team trade that scratches everyone’s itch. More on that idea coming later today at DallasBasketball.com.

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Published Jan 9, 2023

DALTON TRIGG

Dalton Trigg is the Editor-In-Chief for Dallas Basketball, as well as the Executive Editor overseeing Inside The Rockets, Inside The Spurs, All Knicks, and The Magic Insider. He is the founder and host for the Mavs Step Back Podcast, which is a proud part of the Blue Wire podcast network. Trigg graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi’s College of Business and Economic Development with a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship in 2016. After spending a few years with multiple Dallas Mavericks-related blogs, including SB Nation’s Mavs Moneyball, Trigg joined DallasBasketball.com as a staff writer in 2018 and never looked back. At the start of 2022, he was promoted to the EIC title he holds now. Through the years, Trigg has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, Mavs GM Nico Harrison, now-retired legend Dirk Nowitzki and many other current/former players and team staffers. Many of those interviews and other articles by Trigg have been aggregated by other well-known sports media websites, such as Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and others. You can find Trigg on all major social media channels, but his most prevalent platform is on Twitter. Whether it’s posting links to his DBcom work, live-tweeting Mavs games or merely giving his opinions on things going on with Dallas and the rest of the NBA, the daily content never stops rolling. For any inquiries, please email Dalton@MavsStepBack.com.