Mavs’ Hardaway Mentored Pistons’ Cunningham Before Season-Ending Surgery
Dallas Mavericks veteran shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr. has found himself as the subject of numerous trade rumors in recent weeks.
Last season, through 42 games, Hardaway was having an off-year while shooting just 33.6 percent from deep before suffering a foot injury that required season-ending surgery. Through 42 games this season, Hardaway has found his groove from 3-point range again, as he’s shooting 36.1 percent on 7.9 attempts from deep per game.
Although teams’ interest in Hardaway surely stems from his 3-point shooting ability, his ability to be a good locker room presence and mentor to young players might also be high on the list.
Before Detroit Pistons’ promising young star Cade Cunningham decided to have season-ending shin surgery in mid-December, he reached out to several players to get advice on which route he should take. A conversation with Hardaway — who had the same shin surgery during the 2018-19 season — is ultimately what put Cunningham at ease about his decision to go through with the surgery.
“He was actually the guy who made me feel most at ease about it,” said Cunningham of Hardaway in an interview with The Athletic. “He was the last guy I talked to about it. He had the best experience with it. I went to the same doctor as him. It all went perfect. He is kind of the guy who, after I talked to him, I was like, ‘I’m going to do it’ and felt good about it.”
If the Mavs do end up parting ways with Hardaway before the Feb. 9 trade deadline, perhaps the Pistons are a team to keep an eye on given the connection with him and Cunningham. Dallas has been linked to Detroit in multiple trade rumors including Bojan Bogdanovic and Nerlens Noel.
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