Tim Hardaway Jr. speaks out after being traded from the Dallas Mavericks to the Detroit Pistons

The Dallas Mavericks officially completed their trade with the Detroit Pistons on Saturday, sending Tim Hardaway Jr. and three future second-round picks in exchange for Quentin Grimes. Dallas needed to shed Hardaway’s contract to stay under the first line of luxury tax penalties and used that money to sign Naji Marshall and agree to a sign-and-trade with Klay Thompson.

Hardaway Jr. posted a statement on Instagram, bidding farewell to the franchise he has been with for the past five and a half seasons.

“The last 5 seasons will be something I will remember forever. First and foremost, I want to thank all of my teammates. I love you all and we will always be brothers. To Dallas, THANK YOU for helping me become not only a better baseball player but helping me mature even more as a person! The city and organization welcomed me and my family with open arms and even though things didn’t end the way I wanted, I am forever grateful. I will always love you. Thank you. God bless.”

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The Mavericks acquired Hardaway Jr. at the 2019 trade deadline as part of the deal that sent Kristaps Porzingis to Dallas. While Porzingis would be sent down a few years later, Hardaway Jr. was the last player involved in that trade to stay with either the Mavs or the Knicks.

While he was basically unplayable in the 2024 postseason, he was Dallas’ third-leading scorer this season, averaging 14.4 points per game, and he averaged 15.2 points per game in his 352 games in a Mavericks uniform. Most fans were unhappy with his big contract and comments from his father, but overall he was a solid player for the organization, finishing in the top 10 in Sixth Man of the Year voting twice.

Hardaway Jr. will likely play this season in Detroit, the same state where he went to college. As a player at Michigan, he averaged 14.3 points per game in three seasons before being selected 24th overall in the 2013 NBA draft by the Knicks.

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