NBA Trade Rumors: Cavs targeting Tim Hardaway Jr. ahead of the deadline?

NBA Trade Rumors: The Cleveland Cavaliers have their eyes on Tim Hardaway Jr. ahead of the NBA Trade Deadline.

After the acquisition of Donovan Mitchell during the offseason, it’s pretty clear that the Cleveland Cavaliers have taken a significant step forward in their build. At the moment, you can make the argument that the Cavs are a second-tier Eastern Conference team with the possibility of making a step toward contention if they can make a smart move either at the NBA Trade Deadline or during the upcoming offseason.

And the recent rumblings suggest that the Cavs will be looking for a wing at the NBA Trade Deadline and that Caris LeVert could be a player that the team ends up moving. With just a few weeks before the deadline, the team should be honing in on a potential target.

According to a recent report, the Cavs have their eyes on adding Dallas Mavericks wing Tim Hardaway Jr. ahead of next month’s NBA Trade Deadline. However, there could be some difficulty in doing so. For one, there’s no guarantee that the Mavs would even want to shop Hardaway at the deadline.

Would the Dallas Mavericks part ways with Tim Hardaway Jr.?

Hardaway has continued to struggle this season as he’s only shooting 38 percent from the field overall this year, but he’s a player that perhaps the Cavs view as a fit for their team. After this season, he has two years remaining on his contract.

But he’s on an affordable deal, especially with the salary cap raises that are expected, and considering there’s much uncertainty regarding Christian Wood, I’m not sure if the Mavs would be open to moving Hardaway without having at least some certainty on that front.

The bottom line is that the Mavs need to make an upgrade at the trade deadline. Depending on what they would get in return for Hardaway, trading him could be viewed as more of a selling move than a buyer’s one. Unless, of course, there would be another corresponding move that takes place.

There’s plenty of uncertainty around the league heading into the NBA Trade Deadline. And there seem to be a lot more buyers than sellers at the moment. The next few weeks could end up dictating the trade deadline. And the Cavs and Mavs are two teams to keep an eye on.