DALLAS (AP) — The Dallas Mavericks are bringing back shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr. on a $72 million, four-year contract, a person with knowledge of the deal said Monday.
The agreement came just as NBA free agency opened. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because contracts can't be signed until Friday.
Hardaway came to the Mavericks from the New York Knicks before the 2019 trade deadline in a deal headlined by Kristaps Porzingis. The son of former NBA player Tim Hardaway became a consistent scoring threat alongside star point guard Luka Doncic.
After struggling from 3-point range in the weeks after the trade, Hardaway had the two most accurate seasons of his career in his first two full seasons with Dallas. Hardaway shot 39.8% during the pandemic-interrupted 2019-20 season and 39.1% last season.
Hardaway will have a new coach in Jason Kidd after moving in and out of the starting lineup under Rick Carlisle, who resigned a day after former general manager Donnie Nelson was fired in June. Nico Harrison replaced Nelson.
Harrison's first move as GM was trading Josh Richardson, one of Hardaway's replacements as a starter, to Boston. While that would appear to make room for Hardaway, the Mavericks might not be finished with free agency or trades.
Hardaway was the 24th overall pick by the Knicks in 2013. He was traded to Atlanta two years later and rejoined New York as a free agent in 2017. Hardaway has career averages of 13.9 points and 1.8 assists.
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