Report: Remaining money on Tim Hardaway Jr.’s contract giving Cavs ‘hesitancy’ to pursue trade

By David Akerman
Updated: January 10, 2023

The Cleveland Cavaliers have been linked to a number of wings recently, including Dallas Mavericks shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr.

Despite being fourth in the Eastern Conference, the Cavs seem to be looking for upgrades ahead of the Feb. 9 trade deadline.

While they are interested in Hardaway, his contract is a potential roadblock, according to a recent report.

“Cleveland is open to upgrading the wing position via the trade market,” wrote HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto. “However, Hardaway Jr. is owed $34.1 million the following two seasons, which gives Cleveland hesitancy, HoopsHype has learned. In addition, there’s also a belief Caris LeVert is a better overall player than Hardaway Jr.”

Hardaway has two more seasons left on his deal after the 2022-23 campaign finishes. As for LeVert, he is set to become a free agent after this season.

The Cavs reportedly aren’t looking to trade him, but they are indeed open to it, according to Sam Amico of Hoops Wire. Some people around the league believe that the 28-year-old is Cleveland’s best trade asset.

That very well may be true after the organization parted ways with a lot in order to acquire star guard Donovan Mitchell from the Utah Jazz over the offseason. That trade has seemingly proved to be worth every penny so far.

It will be interesting to see if the Cavs end up making a deal for someone. They have been linked to Bojan Bogdanovic and Saddiq Bey, but it seems like the Detroit Pistons’ asking prices for them are a little too high.

Dallas might be willing to offload Hardaway and his contract for cheap in order to free up some cap space to build around Luka Doncic, who is one of the league’s best players. However, Hardaway is a key player for the Mavericks, who are in fourth place in the tough Western Conference with a 23-18 record.

The 30-year-old is recording 13.9 points and 3.1 rebounds in 28.7 minutes per contest. While he hasn’t been super efficient from the field, he’s knocking down 36.4 percent of his shots from beyond the arc.

He would provide the Cavs with some nice shooting alongside Darius Garland and Mitchell. 3-point shooting isn’t one of Cleveland’s weaknesses this season, but a team can never have too much shooting.

With the trade deadline getting closer and closer, this situation will be one to keep an eye on.