When it comes to the four-year, $71 million deal that New York Knicks shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr. signed over the summer, there were many people who were very skeptical at the time. According to a recent article by Marc Berman of the New York Post, his father and current Detroit Pistons assistant coach Tim Hardaway Sr. has a message for those critics.
“I’m looking at it as you’re not giving him a chance,” Hardaway Sr. said. “You’re writing him off right then and there. Most people hadn’t looked at him, what he did with Atlanta, how much he got better and what he got better at.”
Hardaway Jr. is currently averaging 17.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.1 steals per game in 21 starts this season for New York. He leads the Knicks (17-16) in 3-point field goals made per game and ranks in the top five on the team in points, rebounds, assists, and steals per contest.
His father feels that the fans and media were too quick to jump to conclusions when the Knicks signed the guard to a lucrative deal.
“The Knicks looked at everything,’’ Hardaway Sr. said. “They looked at film from all 82 games before they knew what they wanted to do with Tim. They looked at his playoffs [in Atlanta]. The fans, the media wrote him off before he even went out and played. That’s what I was upset about. You don’t give him a chance to go out there and do what he’s supposed to do. Give him a chance and then go from there.
“Just don’t shoot him down because you’re looking at the money. Because that’s all you’re looking at. You’re not looking at his game and how he got better. You’re looking at his money and you don’t have to because everyone is getting paid [well] in this business. And Tim worked his tail off to get paid.”
Still dealing with a stress injury in his left leg, the timetable for the return of Tim Hardaway Jr. remains unclear.
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