Tim Hardaway Jr.‘s first season with the Mavericks will come to an early end, as the team has shut down the veteran wing after he suffered a stress reaction in his left tibia, per Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News.
Hardaway, 27, arrived in Dallas last month along with Kristaps Porzingis, Courtney Lee, and Trey Burke as part of a blockbuster trade with the Knicks. In 19 games (29.4 MPG) for his new team, he averaged 15.5 PPG on .404/.321/.767 shooting.
There are still two more years on Hardaway’s contract after this season, including a 2020/21 player option, so he’s expected to remain a part of the Mavs’ roster and rotation going forward. Since the former Knick previously battled a stress injury in his left leg during the 2017/18 season, he and the team figure to be extra cautious with his latest ailment. However, there’s no indication that he won’t be fully healthy and ready to go for the 2019/20 season.
With Hardaway on the shelf, Justin Jackson and Ryan Broekhoff look like prime candidates to see their roles increase down the stretch. Jackson moved into Dallas’ starting lineup for the first time on Thursday, while Broekhoff logged 17 minutes after playing a total of just six minutes in the team’s previous eight games.
Good riddance! Well that improves Dallas for the rest of the season, he is one of the most inefficient scorers in the league, no defence, bad shots & shoots non stop, no passing the ball…
I still can’t get over his dad saying Dallas wouldn’t have made the KP trade if Tim Jr wasn’t included. More like Tim Jr was the only cause for pause in am otherwise wonderful Dallas trade.
That Broekhoff kid was shooting lights out in the limited minutes he did receive. Who knows, maybe he could be a good shooting option off the bench next season. In a small sample size of 65 threes, he is shooting 40%, so that’s something…
With Luka, Kristaps, and whichever third core player (possibly Vucevic?) they sign next season, they’re going to need to surround their new trio with shooters..So, having a cheap and efficient option like Broekhoff certsinly couldn’t hurt. Hope this kid is able to make the best of his new opportunity..
And before someone overreacts, I’m not saying nor implying Broekhoff is some Kyle Korver clone. I’m just saying he can be a cheap, efficient bench option, that’s capable of dropping a couple catch and shoot threes a game..Which would be useful, since they’re already going to have their offense ran primarily through Luka, Kristaps, and whichever 3rd option they add..