Tealeaves of the Dallas Mavericks' Luka Doncic saga continue to be revealed, as it seems like something new comes out about his time in Dallas and the trade every single week. From Dallas' front office doubting his work ethic to trade rumors that would have sent him to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Anthony Edwards, fans have learned more about how the organization felt about Doncic over the fallout of the trade, but current and former Mavericks have rebutted these claims.
Quentin Grimes made it clear that he thinks Doncic is a hard worker, contrary to what the organization thought of him, and even Kyrie Irving said that the public criticism of Doncic needed to be dialed back.
On top of Irving and Grimes, it always seemed like his other teammates loved playing with him, but that can't be said about everyone. One former teammate of Doncic didn't seem to feel the same way as Grimes and Irving, and he has recently been roasted for what he thought of playing next to him.
After the 2024 NBA Finals, it became clear that the Mavericks were looking to trade Tim Hardaway Jr. after his fall from glory over the last few months of the season and into the playoffs, and they were quickly able to find a trade partner as they sent him to the Detroit Pistons. Hardaway Jr. had been unhappy with his role in Dallas, and a trade made sense for both sides.
Beverley flames Hardaway Jr. for wanting out of Doncic's shadow
Part of the unhappiness about his role seemed to stem from playing with Doncic, and former NBA guard Patrick Beverley recently revealed a story from Hardaway Jr. in which he discussed how he wanted to be traded from the Mavericks.
Beverley was in Greece during the 2023 offseason with some of his former teammates, and he happened to run into Hardaway Jr. while he was there. He said that Hardaway Jr. said that he wanted to get traded out of Dallas, because he wanted the ball more and said Doncic had the ball most of the time.
Beverley couldn't believe that Hardaway Jr. wanted to be traded from the Mavericks, telling him "that'd be the worst thing you've ever done," and later called Hardaway Jr. "lame." He never looked at Hardaway Jr. the same after this, and his attitude over his final year in Dallas was made clear.
He didn't want to be there to begin with, and his father made that clear throughout the season. Tim Hardaway Sr. was seemingly always saying something negative about Doncic or the Mavericks as a whole, and he got his wish as Hardaway Jr. is now on one of the best teams in the East.
Hardaway Jr. got considerably more shots per game last season (12.4) than he does this season (8.5), and averaged 14.4 points per game in Dallas last season compared to the 10.4 points per game he is averaging in Detroit this season. His fall off had nothing to do with Doncic, it had to do with his efficiency plummeting at the end of the season and becoming unplayable in the playoffs.
