The Dallas Mavericks’ off-season came earlier than anticipated when the Los Angeles Clippers ushered them out of the playoffs after an exciting seven-game series. While the first-round playoff exit is disappointing for the organization, there’s plenty of work ahead.
Dallas faces a few tough decisions this summer. These primarily center on personnel decisions—although there are whispers about a potential front office shake up. A total of five players are entering either restricted or unrestricted free agency come August. Of those, Tim Hardaway Jr. proved himself invaluable to the Mavericks’ success this season. Re-signing him should be one of the top priorities for Dallas’ brass, but it won’t be cheap.
Hardaway enters unrestricted free agency after completing a four-year, $71 million contract that he signed from the New York Knicks in July 2017. The Mavericks traded for him—along with Kristaps Porzingis, Trey Burke and Courtney Lee—in January 2019. He opted into the final season of the contract last summer and earned $18.9 million this season, which also happened to be the most productive of his career.
Appearing in 70 regular season games, including 31 starts, Hardaway averaged 16.6 points while shooting 44.7% from the field and 39.1% on three-pointers this year. He also chipped in 3.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists. In early February, Mavericks Head Coach Rick Carlisle asked him to come off the bench to bolster the second unit. Hardaway played well in a reserve role, averaging 15.1 points, and made a strong case for Sixth Man of the Year, placing fourth in voting.
He returned to a permanent starting role in early May as the Mavericks made their playoff push and jockeyed for seeding. Against the Clippers in the first-round, Hardaway averaged 17 points on 41.6% shooting overall and 40.4% from deep. It’s as a starter that he sees himself excelling and where he wants to be going forward.
“If I were to look back on the season, being a starter, that’s where I’m more comfortable at,” Hardaway says. “I think I’ve shown that this year, throughout the year, and that’s what I’m going to try and look forward to in the near future. I feel like I made my niche as a starting shooting guard, small forward, whatever they got me listed at—I don’t know—but I think I created that niche that I am a starter.”
Hardaway’s numbers are like Sixth Man of the Year Jordan Clarkson’s of the Utah Jazz, who he already out-earns. Since he views himself as a starter, it means he wants to be paid like one too. Perhaps the best comparison for what Hardaway’s future contract could look like is that of Malcolm Brogdon of the Indiana Pacers. Brogdon signed a four-year, $85 million deal with Indiana in July 2019.
Such a deal would keep Hardaway the second highest paid player on the roster next season, behind Porzingis, who will earn $31.6 million. However, he will fall to third in earnings for the 2022-23 season as Luka Doncic’s extension kicks in. Doncic is expected to sign a super max, five-year rookie scale extension this summer worth some $200 million. These three players could make up the core of the Mavericks’ roster—and the team’s cap space—for years to come.
“[He’s] a really good fit for Luka and Kristaps,” Mavericks GM Donnie Nelson says of Hardaway. “He and Kristaps have a terrific relationship going all the way back to New York. I think there’s some real chemistry there between those three. We’re obviously looking forward to the appropriate time to sit down with his representation.”
For his part, Hardaway says he hasn’t thought much about his pending free agency. He’s taking time to reflect on the season, relax and take his mind off basketball for a little while. When August 2 rolls around—the day teams can begin negotiations with free agents—he’ll likely have several suitors from across the league. For now, though, he says that Dallas feels like home.
“If you were to talk to anybody in this organization—everybody that’s around me every single day, all the time—they would definitely say I love it here,” Hardaway says. “Regardless of if I was coming off the bench or if I was starting, I really felt like this was home for me, and I really felt like I created a niche for myself here to be a part of something bigger, bigger than myself.”
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June 13, 2021 at 11:00PM
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Dallas Mavericks Should Make Re-Signing Tim Hardaway Jr. A Top Priority - Forbes
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