4 reasons why the Dallas Mavericks must trade Tim Hardaway Jr.

The Dallas Mavericks have had a great offseason so far, and they've added plenty of pieces to help them return to the playoffs next season.

They re-signed superstar point guard Kyrie Irving, acquired Grant Williams through a sign-and-trade, and signed knockdown shooter Seth Curry to a two-year deal. Dallas also had a phenomenal draft night as they selected Dereck Lively II with the No. 12 pick and Olivier-Maxence Prosper with the No. 24 pick.

Both players are expected to make immediate impacts on this team, and they are both outstanding defenders.

4 reasons why the Dallas Mavericks must trade Tim Hardaway Jr.

These are the types of moves that Dallas needed. They've gotten younger while also adding more defense. The Mavs haven't made those types of moves in a while, and Nico Harrison has done a great job of building for the present and future this summer.

Although they made some great moves in free agency and the draft, there are a few moves that Dallas needs to make within their roster.

One of these moves is trading shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr.

The Mavericks acquired Hardaway Jr. in the Kristaps Porzingis trade, and he has been a Maverick ever since. In 273 games for Dallas, Hardaway Jr. averages 15.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.9 assists while shooting 37.8 percent from downtown.

These are solid stats and he has been a solid rotation piece for Dallas, but it may be time to move on.

Hardaway Jr. has been in trade rumors all summer, and the best move at this point would be to trade him. The Mavs are expected to trade him, but no deal has happened yet.

Here are three reasons that the Dallas Mavericks must trade Tim Hardaway Jr.

4. Tim Hardaway Jr.'s contract is too big

After two and a half seasons with the team, the Dallas Mavericks signed Tim Hardaway Jr. to a four-year, $75 million contract. This happened in the summer of 2021, and Hardaway Jr. was coming off a solid playoff stint in the season before.

Hardaway Jr.'s contract was a little high at the time, but now it's coming back to bite the Mavericks.

He is set to make over $34 million over the next two seasons, and the Mavericks are struggling to find a trade partner to take his contract. No one wants to take on a 31-year-old shooting guard who is making $17 million annually.

His skill set is too limited to be making that much money, and his contract has become a burden for this team.

If the Mavericks didn't have Hardaway Jr. under contract, they would have had much more flexibility in free agency this summer. They would have been able to offer Matisse Thybulle more (if they wanted to) and would have been able to build around Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving more easily.

It was hard for Dallas to build around their superstars this summer because they have so much money tied up elsewhere. Hardaway Jr.'s contract is too much, and the Mavericks should trade him when given the chance.

3. Tim Hardaway Jr. will take minutes from Jaden Hardy

The Dallas Mavericks have a future star on their roster in Jaden Hardy, and he happens to play the same position as Tim Hardaway Jr. If the Mavericks decide to keep Hardaway Jr., that could cause Hardy to lose minutes and not play as much.

Hardy is only in his second season, and playing time is important for development. If Hardy has a role similar to the role he had at the beginning of the year last year, the Mavs could risk limiting his player development.

Hardy was playing great by the time the end of the year rolled around, and he was playing heavy minutes. To ensure that he has a solidified role, the Mavs should move Hardaway Jr.

The Mavs also signed Seth Curry this summer, and he will likely be ahead of Hardy in the rotation as well.

Hardy is nowhere close to his ceiling as an NBA player, while Hardaway Jr. is likely at his ceiling right now. He could end up being a future contender for the Sixth Man of the Year every season, but the Mavericks have to move Hardaway Jr. to make sure that the opportunity will be there.

If they don't move him, he will likely be ahead of Hardy in the rotation, and they'd be wasting his talent on the bench.

2. Tim Hardaway Jr. isn't a good defender

The Dallas Mavericks have made multiple moves this summer that addressed their need to add defense.

They acquired Grant Williams through a three-team sign and trade with the Spurs and Celtics and drafted Olivier-Maxence Prosper and Dereck Lively II. All three of these moves gave the Mavs another new defender, but they also lost Reggie Bullock in the trade for Williams.

Dallas has to get back to playing better defense, and trading Hardaway Jr. for a player who is a plus defender will make that task easier.

The Mavericks' guards overall struggle defensively. Other than Josh Green and Dante Exum, the Mavericks don't have any solid guard defenders. It's obviously not Hardaway Jr.'s fault that Dallas constructed the team this way, but trading him makes sense, as they already have two scoring guards in Seth Curry and Jaden Hardy.

They don't need him anymore, and his inability to stay with players on the perimeter is even more of a concern now that the Mavs lost Bullock. Dallas losing Bullock could turn out to be a bigger loss than expected. They'll need Green to take a step up defensively, and Exum may play more than people expect, as Dallas needs a guard defender.

The Mavs still have a roster spot that they can use on a good defender, but they don't need an aging defensive liability in Hardaway Jr.

Despite being a great shooter and playing some of the best basketball after the Mavs traded for Kyrie Irving, the Mavs still need to trade him.

1. Tim Hardaway Jr. doesn't seem to fit the Dallas Mavericks' long-term plans

The next two to three seasons are crucial for the Dallas Mavericks.

They have Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving under contract, and the window to win a championship could be tighter than people realize. The Mavs have to win right now, and they don't have time to lose.

The front office also understands the importance of adding youth and defensive reliability to the roster, as they added Dereck Lively II and Olivier-Maxence Prosper through the draft.

The Mavs are building for the future while looking to win right now, and Hardaway Jr. isn't necessarily a piece they need for the long haul. Sure, he can be a contributor and a big part of what they do, but if the Mavs keep him this season and don't contend for a title, they must trade him.

Irving could potentially opt out of his contract with the Mavs in two seasons, and Dallas has to have flexibility in free agency to build around Irving and Doncic. They can't risk wasting the time that Doncic and Irving are on the same team together and having Hardaway Jr. on the roster with them both is a financial burden.

This final reason wraps all three reasons into one, and recaps why Dallas should trade Hardaway Jr.

We'll have you covered with all the news and rumors surrounding the Hardaway Jr. and the Mavs this offseason, so stay tuned.