Tim Hardaway Sr. feels a type of way about the teammates that play alongside his son.
The Basketball Hall of Famer, the father of Mavericks guard Tim Hardaway Jr., ripped Kyrie Irving and Luka Dončić for their lack of leadership skills during an appearance on The Carton Show.
“They’re missing a leader out there. Luka is not a leader, Kyrie is not a leader. Jalen Brunson was a leader,” Hardaway said. “A leader shows by example, by playing defense. When he says something, he does it also, and that’s what a leader is. And like I said, those two guys are not leaders. They’re complementary, dominant great basketball players. Great scorers.”
He also called Luka a “crybaby.”
Dallas has gone 9-16 since making the deadline blockbuster trade for Irving as they fell past the NBA’s play-in tournament. The Mavericks traded Dorian Finney-Smith and Spencer Dinwiddie along with an unprotected 2029 first-round pick and two future second-round picks to the Brooklyn Nets for Irving at the deadline.
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The team was flawed before the trade, but at least they had somewhat of a defensive identity. Now, the team cannot play a lick of defense and have to rely on outscoring teams, which is not working.
“That trade wasn’t for them. I think I would have kept what I had, because I was in the fourth or fifth spot,” Hardaway said. “What is not broken does not need to be fixed.”
Dončić said he believes the lack of defensive cohesion has hurt Dallas the most.
“I don’t think offense is the problem,” Doncic told reporters Tuesday. “I’ve always said this. It’s our defensive end. I think anybody can score on us. Whoever it is, anybody can score on us.”
The Mavs seemed destined for a playoff birth, but the trade changed their season for the worst.
While the Mavs intend to re-sign him, Irving is an unrestricted free agent this summer and has made no commitment to remaining in Dallas. His three previous stints have seen him leave in ugly fashions.
The Mavericks have since been eliminated from playoff contention as they decided to sit all of their good players in a critical game. It seems the team was content with not making the postseason and wanted to keep their first-round pick instead.
