3 reasons why Tim Hardaway Jr. is a bad fit for the Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cleveland Cavaliers have an interest in Tim Hardaway Jr. and that’s a bad fit.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are apparently interested in the Dallas Mavericks forward Tim Hardaway Jr., at least according to Sports Illustrated’s Cavs’ Insider. As a player, I like Hardaway. He’s a nice additional piece to a lot of other teams’ puzzles. He’s not someone, however, who fits for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Firstly, he’s older than the rest of the team by a bit. He’s about five years off from the rest of the team, meaning he’ll be quickly replaced in the long-term aspect of the team. Now, guys like the unrelated Bogdanvoic’s fall in this equation too, yet there are two differences there. We’ll get to that in a bit, however.

Secondly, he’s expensive for what he provides. Hardaway is averaging $19 million this year, $17 million next year, and $16 million after that. That’s not bad when you think of someone at the top of the game in a specific category but Hardaway isn’t that guy. He isn’t going to lead the league in anything. Someone like Bojan could lead the league in three-point shooting, so his similar contract is more justifiable knowing he has a higher potential and is a better fit with the team.

That leads us to the third reason, Hardaway is just a very average player with nothing exceptional about his play. Depending on who you ask, Hardaway is either a super great addition to your team or a super bad one. His RAPTOR score paints him as the perfect fit, offensively a +1.4 ,and defensively a +2.0. Great. Trade for him. Except, his BPMs have him as a -0.5 offensively and a -1.4 defensively for a total of a -1.9 altogether.

Considering he’s shooting below 40% from inside the arc, and below 40% from outside the arc, yeah, he sounds like a negative offensive player. While he can play small forward, he’s not someone who’s going to excel providing non-scoring stats either. He’s pulling down just three rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. This is on a team that is less talented than the Cavs.

If he can’t have gaudier numbers on the Mavs, a team devoid of anyone on par with the Cavs starting four (besides Luka Doncic), then that’s a sign that Hardaway is a one-trick pony offensively. A one trick that isn’t that tricky. If he were shooting at the clip of Bojan or playing all-around offensive as well as Bogdan, then yes, Hardaway makes sense, but he isn’t.

There isn’t a trade the Cleveland Cavaliers can make to bring in Tim Hardaway Jr.

All that being said, if there was a way to bring Tim Hardaway to Cleveland that wouldn’t cost you any pieces from your starting four, Caris LeVeret, Kevin Love, Ricky Rubio, or Cedi Osman, I’d be for it. Yet, the salaries don’t match. If you could send over Isaac Okoro and Dylan Windler for Hardaway, keeping LeVert for a separate deal, then I’d be all for going for Hardaway.

But the only way to get Hardaway in Cleveland, without giving up LeVert, is to give up Osman. I’d rather Osman, a more well-rounded offensive player than trade for the offensively stunted Hardaway.

Now, I’m not entirely sure how this works, but there is a way to send money over to balance a deal out. So in theory, if you sent Okoro and Windler over to the Mavs for Hardaway, the Mavs could send back $5+ million in cash considerations. Though I’m not sure if that reduces the impact of Hardaway’s contract against the cap, or if it’s just cash used after the fact. If it reduces how the cap views Hardaway’s contract, that can make the deal happen. If it doesn’t, then the deal is still dead.

I’d rather swing LeVert for a Bogdanvovic, or a Gordan Hayward, a near-elite-level offensive player, than get a solid defender, with some pretty bad shooting splits. If you gotta make a move and Hardaway is the best available, ok, but only to not lose out on LeVert’s expiring deal.