Tim Hardaway Jr. will exercise his $19-million player option to remain with the Dallas Mavericks through the end of the 2020-21 season, a source told ESPN's Tim MacMahon.
The 28-year-old shooting guard averaged 15.8 points per game with a career-best effective field-goal rate of 55% last year, ranking behind only franchise pillars Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis on the Mavericks. Hardaway also chipped in 3.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists per contest, while connecting on 39.8% of his looks from long range.
Hardaway's decision removes one of the top-scoring wings from the sparsely populated 2020 free-agent pool, echoing similar decisions from would-be free-agent wings DeMar DeRozan and Otto Porter Jr.
With potential franchise-altering superstars like Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James, and Kawhi Leonard technically able to reach unrestricted free agency next summer, few teams appear willing to commit major salary this offseason beyond 2021, suppressing the market for role players of Hardaway's stature.
