The Mavericks on Monday retained veteran swingman Tim Hardaway Jr., who according to a source verbally agreed to a contract for four years and $72 million. Free agents, however, can’t officially sign contracts until 11 a.m. Friday at the soonest.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania first reported the news.
The Mavericks made the re-signing of Hardaway a priority as free agency got underway at 5 p.m. Monday afternoon.
Hardaway, 29, was acquired by Dallas from New York on Jan. 31, 2019, as part of the blockbuster trade that brought Kristaps Porzingis to Dallas.
While Porzingis’ play and availability were inconsistent the past two seasons, Hardaway was one of the Mavericks’ most consistent, efficient and durable performers, finishing as the team’s third-leading scorer behind Luka Doncic and Porzingis in both seasons.
He averaged 15.8 points on 43.4% shooting in 2019-20. He was even better last season, averaging 16.6 points on 44.7% shooting — and he willingly came off the bench until the final month of the season, when it became clear to coach Rick Carlisle that he was the superior option to Josh Richardson.
After his midseason trade to Dallas in 2019, Hardaway played in only 19 games before the Mavericks decided to shelve him and recommend surgery to repair a lingering stress reaction in his left tibia.
The surgery not only was successful, but Hardaway came back even stronger. He missed only four of Dallas’ 75 games in 2019-20, and only two of last season’s 72 games.
