The Dallas Mavericks are down in the NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics and they have a mountain to climb if they want to extend the series.
Regardless of how the finals end, however, there are a few Mavericks who shouldn’t and likely will not be back for next season. Now that the Mavericks have proven themselves to be surefire title contenders, they can’t afford to make mistakes in roster construction. Therefore, they need to part ways with the players below and replace them with immediate upgrades.
It has been a disastrous postseason for Hardaway Jr. A consistently productive player in the regular season, Hardaway’s limitations proved to be insurmountable in the playoffs as he inevitably fell out of favor, losing his spot in the rotation.
Hardaway is 32 years old and is entering the final year of his contract, paying him $16.1 million for the 2024-25 season. This makes him an excellent trade candidate. The Mavericks should use his expiring salary, attach it to a first-round pick or a young player like Jaden Hardy or Olivier-Maxence Prosper, and get a quality rotation-level player.
The Mavs don’t have the luxury to pay $16 million to a player who can’t be a part of the playoff rotation. Hardaway can’t even see the floor even when Dallas has desperately needed his shooting and shot creation. His inability to do anything else other than score and his defensive weaknesses make him difficult to trust against good teams.
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