Grades for every Dallas Mavericks player ahead of the trade deadline

6. Tim Hardaway Jr.

Tim Hardaway Jr. is arguably having his best season for the Dallas Mavericks since he arrived in February of 2019 in the Kristaps Porzingis trade. Hardaway Jr. has taken a much more expansive role in Dallas' offense despite coming off the bench in 35 out of the 44 contests he's suited up for this season, as the 6-foot-5 guard is averaging the most amount of field goal attempts per game (14.8) since he stepped foot in Dallas.

Barring a mid-December stretch where he was in a bit of shooting slump, Hardaway Jr. has been shooting extremely effectively for Dallas this year. Hardaway Jr. is shooting 37.0 percent from three-point range, and he's doing so on an average of 8.9 attempted threes per game. Hardaway has done a better job of diversifying his offensive portfolio this year, as he's not as prone toward settling for ill-advised three-pointers like he has been in past seasons for Dallas.

Hardaway Jr.'s shooting numbers will likely trend upward for the rest of the season if he continues to play like he has, as he's done a much better job at converting on early drives and mid-range pull-up shots as a means to get in rhythm from the three-point line as of recently. Hardaway Jr.'s aggression on offense and willingness to take open three-point shots is something that the Mavericks don't really have outside of him, as Seth Curry is the only other role player on the roster who won't hesitate when given space from outside, and Curry isn't even in Dallas' main rotation.

Hardaway Jr. isn’t the perfect player by any means as he isn’t the best defender and has the occasional horrendous shooting night, but he’s in contention for the Sixth Man-of the Year award so he gets at least an A-.