Cavs Hesitant to Pull Off Deal for Mavs’ Tim Hardaway Jr.

While it appears the Cavaliers have Mavericks wing shooter Tim Hardaway Jr. on their radar, they clearly are not all in.

Instead, they’re more in the contemplation stage, and per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, Hardaway’s contract is giving the Cavs reason to pause. Hardaway, 31, is due to make $34.1 million this season and next.

Also, a deal for Hardaway would likely cost Caris LeVert, and while the Cavs are looking for wing help and outside shooting, they are less enthused about surrendering LeVert to find it. They believe LeVert is a better overall player than Hardaway, Scotto noted.

The Cavs’ interest in Hardaway indeed is related to his perimeter shooting. While he and LeVert are both around 36 percent on 3-pointers, Hardaway takes about twice as many, firing up nearly eight a game. He is a weapon from beyond the arc, that much we know.

But again, it’s a matter of cost for the Cavs, who don’t exactly want to make sweeping changes. Not when you’re in second place in the Central Division and third in the Eastern Conference with a relatively young nucleus.

At any rate, as we relayed here, the Cavs could land Hardaway if they want him. The Mavs are very open to a trade. So as Marc Stein of The Stein Line wrote, a deal is “essentially up to the Cavs.”

Right now, though, it appears president of basketball operations Koby Altman is still a ways away from doing anything involving Hardaway, or any other wing, unless it means bringing in an absolute sure shot.

Basically, plenty of the players the Cavs like are available and could be had — but don’t be surprised if they do nothing, too.

Along with Hardaway, the Cavs have been linked to Pistons forward Bojan Bogdanovic, Pistons guard/forward Alec Burks, Clippers shooting guard Luke Kennard and several others.

Sources have told Hoops Wire that Spurs small forward Doug McDermott has drawn interest from the Cavs as well.