The Dallas Mavericks potentially vastly changed the trajectory of their season by trading for the likes of P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford at the trade deadline, and it’s showing through just two games already. Washington and Gafford have made an immediate defensive impact for the Mavericks, and both of them are already improved Dallas’ rebounding by leaps and bounds.

Despite the exciting notion of adding two starting caliber role players at the trade deadline, the Mavericks still had to say goodbye to three players on their team to make the deals for Washington and Gafford work.

The trade deadline can be daunting for many players who are unsure about their spot in an organization, and there were plenty of Mavericks players who thought they might get moved by the trade deadline given the Mavericks’ intense desire to upgrade their front-court this season.

4 Dallas Mavericks players who barely survived the NBA trade deadline

While Grant Williams, Richaun Holmes, and Seth Curry weren’t able to survive Dallas’ trade deadline unfortunately, Dallas still had plenty of players on their roster that fought valiantly to prove their worth to the organization. With that being said, here are four players who survived the NBA trade deadline for the Mavericks.

4. Jaden Hardy

Jaden Hardy has dealt with the proverbial sophomore slump after an exciting rookie campaign that left many Mavericks fans wondering if he was ready to step up as the third playmaker and shot creator in Dallas’ offense. Hardy has stepped up recently ahead of the trade deadline though, and is proving his worth to this Mavericks’ roster on a game-by-game basis.

As evidenced by Hardy’s most recent Instagram photo, it seems like he is taking pride in having survived Dallas’ trade deadline, and he’s certainly earned the right to hold that position given his recent play. Hardy is currently averaging 8.1 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game on 40.6/37.0/71.7 shooting splits, but those percentages skew heavily toward some of Hardy’s shooting struggles early on in the season.

Hardy has proved that his influx of catch-and-shoot shooting and aggressiveness will keep him on the court despite early-season woes, as he’s stayed poised and maintained confidence despite Jason Kidd minimizing his role in the rotation through certain stretches of this season before the turn of the new year.

Hardy is doing much better in terms of his decision making as of recently, as hs overall discipline as a player is increasing as evidenced by the steps he taken on defense this year as well. After Spencer Dinwiddie flaked the Mavericks for the Los Angeles Lakers in the buyout market, Hardy’s role as a third ball handling option only seems more integral given his recent improvements as well as the Mavericks’ tendency to go through stagnate periods on offense when they are missing one of Luka Doncic or Kyrie Irving from the lineup.

Whether Hardy will assume a role greater than 10-15 minutes per game this season on a consistent basis remains to be seen, but he’s proving to Dallas’ coaching staff that he at least a capable plug-and-play ball handler in a playoff series as well as someone who will be a part of Dallas young core going forward.

3. Maxi Kleber

Maxi Kleber has not benefited from the best injury luck over his past two seasons in Dallas. The 32-year-old hybrid big man missed 35 consecutive games earlier this season with a dislocated pinky toe, but has surprisingly taken ahold of a spot in the Mavericks rotation upon returning. Kleber is once again looking like the athletic help-side shot blocker who can also defend on the perimeter for Dallas, and it’s a huge testament to his hard work during his injury recovery process.

At the start of the season Kleber looked like a fringe NBA player at points, as his athleticism on the defensive end seemed to have depreciated and he looked like he had no confidence in his offensive game whatsoever. Many Mavericks’ fans thought that Kleber would be completely eclipsed in Dallas’ rotation or traded somewhere else before the deadline, but Kleber has become an integral component to Dallas’ rotation upon his return from injury despite being on a minutes restriction at the start of his return to action.

In six games thus far during the month of February, Kleber is having by far his best month of the season, as he’s averaging 10.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game. Kleber has gotten an increase in minutes due to Dereck Lively II’s injury recently, but now that the Mavericks have traded for Daniel Gafford, Kleber is likely to assume the backup power forward spot when Lively II returns from injury.

Kleber came off the bench and played some minutes at the four next to Gafford in Dallas’ most recent victory over the Washington Wizards, as it’s not unlikely that the tandem of Kleber-Gafford and Kleber-Lively II will see a decent amount of run this season in Dallas’ lineup combinations down the stretch. With the Mavericks getting more versatile defensively in the front-court at the trade deadline, it gives them a lot more flexibility to not over extend Kleber’s minutes as the lone big on the floor, so hopefully Kleber will be best optimized from a health perspective going forward.

While Kleber has just recently started shooting better and showcased the ability to attack closeouts in certain scenarios in the last handful of games, his defensive prowess upon his return from injury is what kept him on Dallas’ roster after the trade deadline passed, and now he’s poised for a significant role on this Mavericks team as they head toward the All-Star break.

2. Josh Green

Josh Green has had a rollercoaster season through his fourth year in Dallas. After a prove-it or lose-it third-year campaign with the Mavericks, Dallas’ front office awarded Green with a three-year $41 million contract extension ahead of the start of the season. However, Green proved to be extremely hesitant on offense and far too sporadic on defense to start the season for Dallas.

Just like last year, Green suffered an elbow injury in mid-December that kept him out multiple weeks. Green was able to improve steadily throughout the month of January for Dallas upon returning from injury though, and looked much more aggressive with the ball in his hands compared to the player we saw early on in the season.

Green is still working to expand his dribble package and shot-creation ability, but the fourth year guard is finally ascending into the player that Mavericks fans thought he would be all season when you take into account how he’s played since the start of February. For the month of February, Green is averaging 14.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.3 steals per game.

Green has been much more disciplined as a point of attack defender as well recently, as he’s played some of the best basketball in his career in this recent stretch ahead of the trade deadline. Dallas needs a player of Green’s elk in their starting lineup, as it’s been proven that some tertiary ball handling and solid point of attack defense is extremely invaluable next to Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic in Dallas’ starting five.

Green harnessed the opportunity to prove Dallas’ front office right after reports surfaced that they wanted to keep him ahead of the trade deadline despite the Hornets interest in acquiring Green in the P.J.Washington deal. Green didn’t merely survive the trade deadline, as he has thrived for Dallas during a crucial juncture of the season and has proved his worth as a sure-fire starter barring a huge drop-off in consistency.

1. Tim Hardaway Jr.

While Tim Hardaway Jr. may not be in the best position to win the NBA’s Sixth-Man-of-the-Year Award given his recent shooting woes, the sharpshooter out of Michigan has had one of the more mighty turnarounds in terms of his perception in the Mavericks’ front office as well as their fanbase.

Hardaway Jr. didn’t even know if he was going to be on Dallas’ roster ahead of training camp given the flurry of trade rumors he was mentioned in this offseason, yet Dallas has kept him through the start of the season as well as the trade deadline. Hardaway Jr. is currently 17.5 points and 3.6 rebounds on 41.4/36.4/87.7 shooting splits currently for the Mavericks, as he might be having his best season in Dallas thus far despite recent poor shooting performances.

The Mavericks don’t have anyone with the willingness or ability to take contested 3-point shots outside of Hardaway Jr. besides Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic, so the gravity that he commands alone from opposing defenses is a huge threat on the court when you consider that he is oftentimes playing alongside both Irving and Doncic.

Hardaway Jr. has played more stout defense than we’ve seen from him in years past even if he’s still not necessarily a plus defender, so it’s great to see him completely bought in to the Mavericks’ defense given how much of a sore spot it has been all season. Hardaway Jr. has been doing a much better job at using the in-between game as well as dribble-drives to the rim to set up his rhythm as a shooter up until this recent February stretch, so hopefully Hardaway can revert back to the offensive portfolio that he carried throughout the first half of the season for Dallas.

Regardless of this recent stretch, Hardaway Jr. has had a great season for the Mavericks and has proved his place in the organization going forward if Dallas can maintain the level of defensive intensity that they’ve showed the last two games. The Mavericks need a microwave scorer to get things going offensively when things start to look dull, so Hardaway Jr. will certainly look to excel in that role after the All-Star break as Dallas prepares for the playoffs.

For more on Tim Hardaway Jr. and the Dallas Mavericks, stay tuned with us as we’ll have you covered.