The Mavericks went all in for Kyrie Irving at the NBA trade deadline, taking everyone by surprise. The former Nets star had requested a trade out of Brooklyn just days before, and Dallas didn't lose any second.
It sent a strong message to the rest of the league, which was that they wanted to contend this season. Since Irving can explore the free agency in the offseason, the Mavs were clearly interested in winning as soon as possible.
Luka Doncic lacked a player of his caliber by his side, but things haven't gone to plan so far. The Slovenian star and Kyrie faced a lot of criticism, even from Tim Hardaway Sr. But his son stood up for his teammates.
Tim Hardaway Jr. disagrees with father's comments on Luka, Kyrie
”I disagree with it 1000%,” Tim Hardaway Jr. told The Dallas Morning News and ESPN in an attempt to set the record straight. “I’ve come out numerous times and told you all how much leadership Luka has shown throughout my whole entire time here in Dallas. He shows it on and off the floor, and a lot of the situations we’ve been in as a team, we wouldn’t be in without him, so let’s just set that straight.
“And Kyrie has been nothing more than a leader since he’s been here, making sure that everybody’s good on and off the floor, texting everybody in our group, a player-only chat just to make sure everybody’s good, everybody’s holding together, everybody’s staying strong. Nothing but leadership there.
“It’s just hard just to deal with that. I love those guys. I love my teammates. I’ve loved every team and teammates that I’ve ever been a part of and been with, so just to be focusing in on this instead of the game, it’s disappointing that I have to come out here and say [this]. I love him to death, like I said, my dad. He made a mistake. It’s his opinion, not mine. We’re two different human beings, so that’s really all I can say.”
Hardaway Jr. did the right thing by taking distance from his father's comments, as they put him in an uncomfortable position. Since he quickly disagreed and defended his teammates from his own dad, this shouldn't be a problem anymore.
