The Pistons have emerged as a possible landing spot for Mavericks wing Tim Hardaway Jr. , league sources tell Marc Stein (Twitter link ).
Stein previously reported that Hardaway would be a prime trade candidate to watch this offseason and that Dallas was more likely than ever to find a taker for the 32-year-old, who is entering the final season of his four-year contract, with his cap hit declining to $16.2MM.
According to Stein, finding a deal involving Hardaway is a “key element” of the Mavs’ plan to re-sign starting small forward Derrick Jones . Dallas only holds Non-Bird rights on Jones and can’t offer him a contract worth more than 20% above the minimum without dipping into its mid-level exception. The club projects to operate over the tax in 2024/25, so trading Hardaway and shedding some salary could open up the full non-taxpayer mid-level exception ($12.9MM) rather than just the taxpayer form of the MLE ($5.2MM).
Meanwhile, new Pistons president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon has spoken openly about his club’s willingness to take on unwanted contracts if they’re attached to more valuable assets. Detroit projects to have a significant chunk of cap space available this summer (potentially $60MM+) and could easily absorb Hardaway’s expiring $16.2MM salary while still having plenty of room left over.
In a subscriber-only article for The Detroit Free Press published prior to Stein’s report, Pistons beat writer Omari Sankofa II suggested that a deal sending Hardaway and a pair of future second-round picks to Detroit might make sense for both sides. The Pistons made a similar move last offseason when they acquired Joe Harris ‘ $19.9MM expiring contract along with two second-rounders from Brooklyn.
Detroit had envisioned Harris bringing much-needed shooting to the roster, but the veteran swingman battled injuries and wasn’t productive when he did play. Hardaway would theoretically be a more effective rotation piece for the Pistons. He’s coming off a season in which he averaged 14.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in 26.8 minutes per game across 79 appearances, with a shooting line of .402/.353/.852. Since he played a limited role in the playoffs though, there has been a sense that his days with Dallas may be numbered.
According to Stein (Twitter link ), the two teams don’t have the framework of a trade in place yet, but scenarios involving Pistons wing Quentin Grimes have been discussed. Grimes’ cap hit for 2024/25 is just $4.3MM, so a deal that includes no additional players besides him and Hardaway would still create substantial cap savings for the Mavs on top of giving them a potential rotation player.
However, Grimes was the primary piece Detroit got back in the February trade that sent Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks to New York, so the Pistons will presumably be seeking more than a second-round pick or two if they agree to send him out and take on Hardaway’s salary.