The Dallas Mavericks are trading Tim Hardaway Jr. and three second-round picks to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Quentin Grimes. according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Hardway Jr., 32, had been with the Mavericks for the past six seasons after coming over from the New York Knicks as part of the Kristaps Porziņģis trade in January 2019. Hardaway Jr. is under contract through next season and is owed $16.2 million. During the regular season, he averaged 14.4 points and 3.2 rebounds per game.
Grimes, 24, spent parts of his first three NBA seasons with the Knicks before being traded to Detroit in February. Injuries limited him to just six games with the Pistons after the trade. He is owed $4.3 million as he enters the final season of his rookie contract.
Salary compensation move for the Mavericks
As the Pistons sign a deal to acquire future draft picks, the Mavericks clear salary cap space to prepare for their next move.
According ESPN’s Tim McMahonThe next step will be for the Mavericks to offer Derrick Jones Jr. a “significant portion” of the $12.9 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception. Dallas general manager Nico Harrison said last week that re-signing the 27-year-old striker was at the top of his preseason to-do list.
“I don’t know how we’re going to do it, but he’s a priority… He’s priority one, 1A and 1B,” Harrison said. “I think he fits into our team. He loves it here and obviously we have to figure out the dynamic to get him to stay. But that’s a priority and we’ll do what we have to do to get that done.”
Jones is the only player in the Mavericks’ rotation who is not signed for the 2024-25 NBA season.