It is moving day. From the third-leading scorer to being shipped out of town. The Dallas Mavericks are trading Tim Hardaway Jr., who found himself in coach Jason Kidd’s doghouse, along with three second-round picks to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Quentin Grimes, according to ESPN’s senior NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski.
Hardaway Jr., 32 years-of-age, the son of Hall of Famer Tim Hardaway Sr., had been a key contributor with the Mavericks over the past six seasons after being dealt by the New York Knicks as part of the January 2019 Kristaps Porzingis trade. Hardaway Jr. is under contract through the 2025 campaign and is owed $16.2 million. During the regular season he averaged 14.4 points and 3.2 rebounds per game, primarily in the sixth man role.
Embed from Getty ImagesHowever, his minutes and contributions were diminished significantly down the stretch of the regular season and throughout the playoffs. He did not see the floor due to a coach’s decision in four of the Mavericks’ last eight games in the Western Conference finals against the Minnesota Timberwolves and NBA Finals versus the Celtics.
Grimes, 24, spent part of his first three NBA seasons with the Knicks prior to him being dealt to the Detroit Pistons in February on the trade deadline. He has averaged 8.5 points in 168 career games, including 90 starts for the Knicks. A myriad of injuries, which included right knee soreness, limited him to a sparse six games with the Pistons following the trade. He is owed $4.3 million as he goes into the final year of his rookie contract.
While the Pistons take on a veteran’s contract with the purpose of acquiring future draft picks, the Mavericks clear salary cap space in order to facilitate their next move.
According to ESPN’s NBA reporter Tim McMahon, that ensuing move will see the Mavericks offer Derrick Jones Jr. a “significant part” of the $12.9 million nontaxpayer midlevel exception. Dallas GM Nico Harrison said last week that re-signing the 27-year-old forward was a top priority on his offseason to-do list.
“I don’t know how we’re going to do it, but he’s a priority. … He’s priority one, 1A and 1B,” Harrison said. “I think he fits in with our team. He loves it here and we have to figure out obviously the dynamics to get him to stay. But that’s a priority and we’ll do what we have to do to get it done.”
Jones, the team’s best perimeter defender and a former Slam Dunk champion, played last season on a veteran’s minimum deal. He is the only player in the Mavericks’ rotation who is not signed for the 2024-25 NBA season.
