4 Dallas Mavericks players who barely survived the NBA trade deadline

The Dallas Mavericks potentially vastly changed the trajectory of their season by trading for the likes of P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford at the trade deadline, and it’s showing through just two games already. Washington and Gafford have made an immediate defensive impact for the Mavericks, and both of them are already improved Dallas’ rebounding by leaps and bounds.

Despite the exciting notion of adding two starting caliber role players at the trade deadline, the Mavericks still had to say goodbye to three players on their team to make the deals for Washington and Gafford work.

The trade deadline can be daunting for many players who are unsure about their spot in an organization, and there were plenty of Mavericks players who thought they might get moved by the trade deadline given the Mavericks’ intense desire to upgrade their front-court this season.

4 Dallas Mavericks players who barely survived the NBA trade deadline

While Grant Williams, Richaun Holmes, and Seth Curry weren’t able to survive Dallas’ trade deadline unfortunately, Dallas still had plenty of players on their roster that fought valiantly to prove their worth to the organization. With that being said, here are four players who survived the NBA trade deadline for the Mavericks.

4. Jaden Hardy

Jaden Hardy has dealt with the proverbial sophomore slump after an exciting rookie campaign that left many Mavericks fans wondering if he was ready to step up as the third playmaker and shot creator in Dallas' offense. Hardy has stepped up recently ahead of the trade deadline though, and is proving his worth to this Mavericks' roster on a game-by-game basis.

As evidenced by Hardy's most recent Instagram photo, it seems like he is taking pride in having survived Dallas' trade deadline, and he's certainly earned the right to hold that position given his recent play. Hardy is currently averaging 8.1 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game on 40.6/37.0/71.7 shooting splits, but those percentages skew heavily toward some of Hardy's shooting struggles early on in the season.

Hardy has proved that his influx of catch-and-shoot shooting and aggressiveness will keep him on the court despite early-season woes, as he's stayed poised and maintained confidence despite Jason Kidd minimizing his role in the rotation through certain stretches of this season before the turn of the new year.

Hardy is doing much better in terms of his decision making as of recently, as hs overall discipline as a player is increasing as evidenced by the steps he taken on defense this year as well. After Spencer Dinwiddie flaked the Mavericks for the Los Angeles Lakers in the buyout market, Hardy's role as a third ball handling option only seems more integral given his recent improvements as well as the Mavericks' tendency to go through stagnate periods on offense when they are missing one of Luka Doncic or Kyrie Irving from the lineup.

Whether Hardy will assume a role greater than 10-15 minutes per game this season on a consistent basis remains to be seen, but he's proving to Dallas' coaching staff that he at least a capable plug-and-play ball handler in a playoff series as well as someone who will be a part of Dallas young core going forward.

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