The Lone Ranger's first knife this summer is here!
According to ESPN late last night, the Mavericks made a deal with the Pistons, the details of which were: The Mavericks sent Hardaway Jr. and three second-round picks (two second-round picks from the Raptors in 2025 and two in 2028) to get Quentin Grimes from the Pistons.
First of all, it's no surprise that Hardaway Jr. was traded, although he averaged the third-highest 14.4 points per game in the Mavericks during the regular season last season, and he didn't miss a bad three-point game, averaging 2.7 shots per game and 25th in the league while shooting 35.2% from the field.
But in the playoffs, Hardaway Jr.'s performance was seriously abnormal, the Mavericks played a total of 22 games, he only played in 14 games, averaging 12.7 minutes per game (26.8 minutes in the regular season), only 4.4 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.4 assists, 37.9%/35.1%/50.0% shooting rate from three, and 49.6% true shooting rate.
Among them, the West Finals to the Finals, a total of 10 games, Hardaway Jr. had 4 games DNP, and the other 6 games, except for the finals G4 garbage time in the last quarter of the garbage time brushed 5 three-pointers, and the other 5 games added up to 9 shots and 0 shots, and did not score a point.
It is also because of the serious aberration of Hardaway Jr. in the playoffs that the Mavericks are in a hurry to send him away - in the previous season summary conference, Mavericks GM Harrison once said that the top seven to top eight players in the playoffs do not need to make changes, and coincidentally, Hardaway Jr. happens to be ninth.
Hardaway Jr. is also self-aware, not long ago, his father, celebrity Tim Hardaway said in a reply to netizens: "Yes, the Lone Ranger will send him away, we hope to have a new opportunity to shine, although we don't like what happens, but we are ready to leave." ”
It is worth mentioning that Hardaway Jr. signed a 4-year 75 million decreasing contract with the Mavericks in 2021, and he will enter the contract year next season with an annual salary of 16.19 million.
Let's talk about Quentin Grimes, the Knicks's former crown prince.
Although it was traded from the Pistons, more fans' impression of Grimes should be stuck in the Knicks period, he was the 25th pick in the first round of the Knicks in the class of 2021 and was once cultivated as a main player.
In his sophomore season, the 2022-23 season, Grimes averaged 30 minutes per game and delivered 11.3 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists, shooting 38.6% from three-point range.
Among them, Grimes made 47 of 97 three-pointers in the left corner, shooting 48.5%, and 18-of-48 in the right corner three-pointers, shooting 37.5%.
Last season, because of the arrival of DiVincenzo, Grimes' role status dropped significantly, averaging nearly 10 minutes less playing time per game, and his data dropped to 7.3 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists, fortunately, the three-point shooting rate was not bad, and the shooting rate was still 36.3%.
Before the final trade deadline, the Knicks sent Grimes, Fournier, Flynn, and two second-round picks to the Pistons for Bojan and Burks.
However, after joining the Pistons, Grimes was not reused, playing only 6 games in total, averaging 5.3 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game, and shooting 14.3% from three-point range - the sample is too small and not much reference.
The reason why the Pistons are willing to trade is because of three second-round picks, including the 2025 Raptors second round, because of the Raptors' record and draft year, the value is quite large, and the second is to collect expired contracts and can't get big-name players, and the poor ghost line still has to be filled.
The reason why the Mavericks traded was to get rid of Hardaway Jr., and secondly, they saw the potential of Grimes - if they could pick up the bottom corner three-pointers in the sophomore season, then the Mavericks really made a lot of money.
Three is also a point that cannot be overlooked, making room for the preparation of signing Jones Jr.
The Mavericks' core lineup this summer is basically stable, and only Jones Jr. becomes a free agent, and because Jones Jr. has only played for one year with the Mavericks, the Mavericks, who have limited salary space, cannot provide him with a high salary;
After trading Hardaway Jr., the Mavericks could offer Jones Jr. a large portion of his $12.9 million mid-range contract, and if nothing else, the odds are very high.
didn't come out in the first round, and only sent away three second-round picks, the Mavericks got rid of Hardaway Jr., and got a 24-year-old young 3D with potential, and by the way, they also made room to prepare for the signing of Jones Jr., which can be said to be quite good.
This Mavericks was ridiculed by many fans for letting go of Brunson two years ago, but since then, the Mavericks have actually made a lot of good moves, including trading for Irving, PJ Washington, Gafford , as well as selecting Lively and signing Jones Jr., which are also the reasons why the Mavericks reached the Finals this year.
At present, this three-round + Hardaway to Grimes trade also has a trend of becoming a god, but this does not cause a qualitative change for the Mavericks, they have other things to think about, such as, how to get a high-quality and stable forward three masters - with the operation level of the Heroes in the past two years, maybe there will be more surprises in the offseason.