The Dallas Mavericks were three wins away last season from claiming their second NBA championship in franchise history. After making the NBA Finals, Dallas went down 3-0 to the Boston Celtics, eventually losing the series in five.
The team went on a magical run to the NBA Finals with strong play down the stretch but they just ran out of gas. Dallas was filled with multiple players who could play their roles very well around star guard Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
But one notable player who had been a big part of what the Mavericks had done over the past few years hardly saw the court. Shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr. was relegated to the bench for the majority of the postseason, only seeing over 20 minutes of playing time once throughout.
He was listed as inactive or just simply didn’t play in eight of the 22 playoff games that Dallas had. This led to much confusion on the part of Hardaway Jr. and eventually led the Mavericks to trade him during the offseason to the Detroit Pistons.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – DECEMBER 03: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks in action against Tim Hardaway Jr. #11 of the Dallas Mavericks at Madison Square Garden on December 03, 2022 in New York City. The Mavericks defeated the Knicks 121-100. Hardaway Jr.’s dad took some shots at the Mavericks organization.
Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images
However, this didn’t stop former NBA player Tim Hardaway Sr., the father of Hardaway Jr., took a shot at the Mavericks organization over their rotation decision. He appeared on the “All the Smoke” podcast and discussed his the issues that his son saw toward the end of last season.
“He went from someone they paid that was playing a lot then all of a sudden just wasn’t playing…”
“As a pops, it’s tough knowing that your son’s supposed to be out there. He knowing that he can help the team win but for some reason, Jason Kidd, Nico are not telling nobody what’s the deal. And that’s the hard part.”
Father first, fan second. Tim Hardaway Sr. takes us through his son’s up & down 2024 Finals run with the Dallas Mavericks.⁰⁰”As a pops, it’s tough knowing that your son’s supposed to be out there.”⁰⁰ALL THE SMOKE with the NBA legend is LIVE: https://t.co/IiC1E5gotU pic.twitter.com/Vls1OaZEja
— All the Smoke Productions (@allthesmokeprod) September 26, 2024
Hardaway Sr. even took a more direct shot at Kidd, saying that he lacked the dignity to tell the guard why he wasn’t playing. The elder Hardaway played with Kidd on the 2000 Team USA roster that won the gold medal in Sydney.
“I played with you on 2000 Olympic team, we got gold together. We all in this fraternity together and you don’t have the dignity to go to my son and just say hey, this XYZ is why I’m not playing you.”
Hardaway Sr. knows what it takes to win and be part of a team but being a father, he felt a certain way. The Mavericks decided that he wasn’t going to be part of their rotations as they went for a title, leading to the trade.
Now with the Pistons, Hardaway Jr. is entering the final year of his contract. He is scheduled to make $16.1 million and could be a solid expiring contract on the market closer to the trade deadline.
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