The largest guaranteed contract on the Knicks' books now belongs to Tim Hardaway Jr. - not that the fifth-year wing wants to talk about his personal finances.
“At this point, I really couldn’t care less,” Hardaway said of his detractors to the New York Post's Marc Berman. “People need to move on and move forward with that. That’s in the past. We got to get ready for the season. If they’re still harping on that, their mind’s on something else. I’m focused on the team and here to win. I know my teammates and coaching staff and everybody in that front office has to have faith and trust in me that I’m going to go out there and do everything to help the team win."
Since inking a reported four-year, $71-million deal to return to the Big Apple this summer, Hardaway Jr. has faced ample criticism, mainly that a player who has started just 62 games and averaged 11 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game through his first four seasons doesn't warrant the sort of lavish payday the Knicks were willing to offer.
After selecting him with the No. 26 pick in 2013, the son of former five-time All-Star Tim Hardaway Sr. found immediate success, averaging 10.2 points per game as the Knicks' sixth man and garnering an All-Rookie First Team selection. After his second season in New York, however, the Knicks traded Hardaway Jr. to the Atlanta Hawks for the 2015 No. 19 pick, Jerian Grant.
When the Hawks declined to match the Knicks' aggressive offer sheet this summer, Hardaway Jr. was on his way back to his original team, joining budding star Kristaps Porzingis and 2017 No. 8 pick Frank Ntilikina as the new faces of the post-Carmelo Anthony Knickerbockers.
