Mavericks Trade Proposal Sends Tim Hardaway Jr. for $20 Million Guard

Getty Dallas Mavericks guard Tim Hardaway Jr.

A new trade proposal would land the Dallas Mavericks a $20 million guard for Tim Hardaway Jr.

Tyler Watts of The Smoking Cuban proposed that the Mavericks trade Hardaway Jr., JaVale McGee and a 2027 first-round pick to the Detroit Pistons for Bogdan Bogdanovic and Killian Hayes.

“The Mavs get both players they want off their roster and add two capable rotation pieces,” Watts wrote. “Bogdanovic gives them a third scoring option and one that can defend multiple positions, space the floor, and make plays. Dallas is not finding a better number three anytime soon.

“Yes, they could regret it in four years when the first-round pick conveys, but if Dallas still has Luka Doncic, that pick could be in the 20s. The Mavericks should bet on themselves. The title race is wide open and getting Bogdanovic pushes Dallas closer to the top of the Western Conference.

“Winning a championship with Doncic is going to take some bold moves. This would be one of them.”

Bogdanovic averaged 21.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists last season for the Pistons while shooting 48.8% from the field, 41.1% from beyond the arc and 88.4% from the free-throw line. He signed a two-year, $39 million extension with Detroit in October 2022.

The 34-year-old Bogdanovic will make $20 million next season.

Mavericks Have Talked to Pistons

The Mavericks and Pistons renewed conversations about a Bogdanovic trade, according to Tim Cato of The Athletic.

“Late last week, multiple league sources said that the Mavericks and the Detroit Pistons renewed conversations about a Bojan Bogdanović trade,” Cato wrote. “Dallas had previously considered trading for Bogdanović at last season’s deadline, but Detroit’s asking price of a first-round pick was considered too high for the Dallas front office.

“League sources say that the talks were sturdy enough to discuss a potential trade framework — Bogdanović and Killian Hayes coming to Dallas, Tim Hardaway Jr. and JaVale McGee going out — but it’s unclear what else would have been required from each party to expand it to a four-team deal and what ultimately caused those talks, however serious, to stall. (Dallas is incredibly cautious to trade its 2027 first-round pick, one team source says, which the team could not put typical protections due to the first-rounders which it owes.)”

Bogdanovic has career averages of 15.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists with the Brooklyn Nets, Washington Wizards, Indiana Pacers, Utah Jazz and Pistons.

Meanwhile, Hayes has career averages of 8.4 points, 3.0 rebounds and 5.3 assists. The Pistons drafted him with the seventh overall pick in the 2020 draft.

Anonymous Member of Mavericks Breaks Silence on Re-Signing Kyrie Irving

An anonymous member of the Mavericks told Keith Smith of Spotrac that re-signing Kyrie Irving “was priority number one.”

Irving re-signed with the Mavericks on the first day of free agency on a three-year, $126 million contract.

“Re-signing Kyrie Irving was priority number one,” the anonymous member of the Mavericks told Smith. “Adding depth to our frontcourt was probably next on the list. And adding some young talent that fit with Kyrie and Luka (Doncic) was also high on the priority list. We feel like we accomplished all of those goals, even if there is still work to be done.”

Irving averaged 27.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists in 20 games with the Mavericks last season. He finished the 2022-23 season with averages of 27.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.5 assists with the Nets and Mavericks.