If we are going after vets, we need vets that actually will be part of the rotation. Vets that are better than the young guys while also showing them the proper way to do things. The Malik Rose type vets are great and you have to have them, but because they don't play, their effect is limited.

Hollinger on the Penny signing:

Penny Hardaway's case isn't much better. In his last full-ish season, 2004-05 with the Knicks, he played in 37 games and was pretty darn awful.

Hardaway had a PER of 8.99 that season, one of the worst marks among wing players. His trademark scoring skills had declined to the point that he only averaged 12.0 points per 40 minutes, and did it with one of the worst true shooting percentages at his position. He also had a pathetic rebound rate (5.8) and made too many turnovers. Basically, he was finished. He played four games for the Knicks the next season and then they traded him to Orlando, which set him free.

That last full season came in 2004-05 -- two years ago. And he'd been steadily declining up until that point, even while insisting that he was in great shape and had never felt better. Again, it strains logic to think he's improved during this layoff.

Basically, I'm somewhere between puzzled and flabbergasted as to why the Heat made this move, even though it only cost them the minimum. I can only surmise that Rony Seikaly and Jon Sundvold weren't returning their calls.