NBA: Biggest X-factor for all 30 teams in the 2019-20 season

Dallas Mavericks: Tim Hardaway Jr.

Throughout his six-year career, there’s been an ever-present ceiling Tim Hardaway Jr. just can’t seem to reach. He’s an athletic guard with a smooth outside stroke, but he’s struggled defensively with the inability to score efficiently.

After being traded to the Dallas Mavericks last February, his struggles were no different. Sure, he averaged 15.5 points in under 30 minutes a night, buy Hardaway also shot just 40.4 percent from the field and 32.1 percent from downtown.

One would think that after carrying such a heavy load at the offensive end in New York, the game would be made easier alongside Rookie of the Year Luka Doncic, but that never materialized for THJ.

His efficiency wound up hovering around the same mark, a troubling stat considering how little he contributes across the board.

Alongside two of the brightest young stars in the league, it’s not difficult to imagine a world where Hardaway is a knockdown outside shooter and intelligent cutter.

Yet after ranking in just the 36th percentile as a spot-up shooter along with less than a single cut per game, there is still plenty of work to be done despite the foundation he’s worked with for years.

The Mavs didn’t give THJ his four-year, $71 million deal, but such was the price to acquire Kristaps Porzingis. Some guys just don’t have the talent, but that is so obviously not the case with Hardaway.

The issue has always been consistency, and a correction of that weakness could do wonders for two budding superstars in need of a supporting cast.