Mavericks continue to lose Tim Hardaway Jr. trade as it spirals into a disaster

When the Dallas Mavericks reached the 2024 NBA Finals, Tim Hardaway Jr. was one of the team's biggest liabilities throughout the playoffs. After more disappointment in the Finals against the Boston Celtics, the Mavericks finally saw enough of Hardaway Jr. and traded him away to the Detroit Pistons. At the time of the trade, the Mavericks were excited to move on and dump Hardaway Jr.'s salary and inconsistent play, but now, the trade is biting them two years later.

The Tim Hardaway Jr. trade snowballed into something worse

The Mavericks traded Hardaway Jr. and three second-round draft picks to the Pistons in exchange for Quentin Grimes. Before heading to Dallas, Grimes was an up-and-coming guard who was showing flashes of potential, especially when he played for the New York Knicks (before he was traded to Detroit).

A fresh start in Dallas seemed fitting, but the Mavericks traded him again in February 2025. The Mavericks traded Grimes and a 2025 second-round draft pick to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Caleb Martin and a second-round pick.

To quickly summarize, Martin's tenure in Dallas has been an all-around disaster, and Grimes has flourished in Philadelphia ever since the trade. Today, the Mavericks are at the bottom of the NBA; meanwhile, Hardaway Jr. is starting to stick it to them with the Denver Nuggets.

Hardaway Jr. is thriving while Dallas watches

Hardaway Jr. joined the Nuggets prior to this season in free agency. After a down season in Detroit, where he averaged 11 points per game, it was unclear where Hardaway Jr. could fit on a talented Nuggets team with Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray on the roster. However, Hardaway Jr. is thriving better than anyone would've predicted in Dallas.

Hardaway Jr. is averaging 13.5 points per game and shooting a career-high 41 percent from three. Despite starting in just six of the 80 games he's played, Hardaway Jr. is the fifth-leading scorer on the Nuggets' roster. Hardaway Jr. is finally showing the confidence in shooting the 3-ball that he struggled with at times in Dallas, and he's fitting in well in Denver, getting quality minutes off the bench.

Hardaway Jr.'s season in Denver makes the Mavericks wonder what would have happened if he had stayed and they had worked out their differences. The trades the Mavericks have made in association with him since then have not panned out. It makes the Mavericks wonder if trading away four second-round draft picks (three in Hardaway Jr. trade, one in Grimes trade) was worth it to look back on, considering how Hardaway Jr. finally showed improvement two seasons later.

With the Mavericks at the bottom of the NBA, they can certainly use those second-round draft picks they traded away today to help try to build around Cooper Flagg. Also, considering how rough his 2024 playoffs were, Hardaway Jr. would've been eager to turn his game around in Dallas, but we will never know how he would've performed coming off a Finals loss.

Hardaway Jr.'s season has put him in a prime position to be the X-factor for the Nuggets in the 2026 NBA Playoffs. Dallas knows about Hardaway Jr. being a liability in the playoffs, but he can certainly have a better playoff year this time around in Denver. Dallas will have to watch Hardaway Jr. from the couch this playoff year, and he has a chance to show why the team never should've traded him after losing the 2024 NBA Finals.