http://ftw.usatoday.com/2017/07/nba-free-agency-new-york-knicks-tim-hardaway-jr-offer-sheet-overpaid-bad-contract

Take a look at the list of free agents who have signed in this crazy NBA offseason and you’ll see something curious: There aren’t too many bad contracts. Nothing too outlandish or out of the question (although some would argue Otto Porter’s four-year $106.5 million offer sheet counts).

That is, until now. And of course the New York Knicks had to be the ones to break that streak.

The franchise signed guard Tim Hardaway Jr. to a four-year, $71 million offer sheet, which can be matched by the Atlanta Hawks by Saturday. But as USA TODAY Sports’ Sam Amick points out, “that far exceeds anything that most NBA executives anticipated for the 25-year-old who was drafted by the Knicks in 2013.”

That’s absolutely correct. Hardaway broke out last season as an effective scorer off the bench for the Hawks, averaging 14.5 points per contest on 45.5 percent shooting. That’s pretty good, but not four-years, $71 million good. That’s money predicting he’ll repeat and exceed what he did as a 24-year-old.

Want some perspective? That’s a bigger contract than what Patty Mills (four years, $50 million) and Dion Waiters (four years, $52 million) got. There’s no way that should be the case. And the funny thing is, Hardaway’s potential journey back to New York is absurd:

When Knicks fans watched the franchise and Phil Jackson part ways, they thought things would be different. But unless Hardaway Jr. goes from sixth man to solid starting shooting guard, he’ll be overpaid, joining Joakim Noah and his massive cap hit. It feels like a rudderless move for a franchise that needs direction, and if Carmelo Anthony is traded or bought out, a rebuild is in order. Tying up $71 million on a player like Hardaway Jr. doesn’t match that plan.

Here are a few tweets from flummoxed folks on Twitter:

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://www.twitter.com/Rachel__Nichols/status/883170892217495552

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://www.twitter.com/PabloTorre/status/883167583033315328

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://www.twitter.com/World_Wide_Wob/status/883170158520524800

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://www.twitter.com/illmaticJJ/status/883166605471043584

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://www.twitter.com/BenHoffmanNYT/status/883294464080588800

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://www.twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/883289418886459393

If Atl doesnt match and the Knicks get a player who continues what he did as a starter last year there is nothing wrong with this. Time will tell. Its not great but its not the total WTF head scratcher that some make it out to be.

GustavBahler wrote:

fishmike wrote:lot of drama here. This is not a move I would have made but its not a head scratcher. THjr turned a big corner and played very well on both sides of the ball. If you are looking for an upward trending young player to risk some money on continuing that trend than THjr is a reasonable gamble. He fits the rebuilding time line. We will see what the other moves are as well.

If Atl doesnt match and the Knicks get a player who continues what he did as a starter last year there is nothing wrong with this. Time will tell. Its not great but its not the total WTF head scratcher that some make it out to be.

A team gives someone a deal like that not long after trading them away, that's drama alright. Im more stunned than anything. I was a fan of THJ his rookie year, was more clutch than Melo that season. But I was glad to see him go after his second season because I thought he flaked out, didn't put in the effort to improve his game. Sounds like Mills isnt going anywhere. This looks like more of the same.

Also the fact that he WAS here is a positive, not a negative. Clearly they liked him as a person but were not high on him as a player. He's turned that corner in a big way. Is the THjr that finished the year the guy we signed? If so the Knicks did just fine. IF not... well that is the risk.

THjr: Trending upward. Finished strong. 24 years old fits with youth timeline. Athletic. Good size for the position. Skills have improved.

Risk: cap hit and dead contract prevents growth from a player like Dotson and hurts Knicks flexibility moving forward.

You know what changes this a lot? If the Knicks get a first rounder or other good asset for Lee.

fishmike wrote:

GustavBahler wrote:

fishmike wrote:lot of drama here. This is not a move I would have made but its not a head scratcher. THjr turned a big corner and played very well on both sides of the ball. If you are looking for an upward trending young player to risk some money on continuing that trend than THjr is a reasonable gamble. He fits the rebuilding time line. We will see what the other moves are as well.

If Atl doesnt match and the Knicks get a player who continues what he did as a starter last year there is nothing wrong with this. Time will tell. Its not great but its not the total WTF head scratcher that some make it out to be.

A team gives someone a deal like that not long after trading them away, that's drama alright. Im more stunned than anything. I was a fan of THJ his rookie year, was more clutch than Melo that season. But I was glad to see him go after his second season because I thought he flaked out, didn't put in the effort to improve his game. Sounds like Mills isnt going anywhere. This looks like more of the same.

it was 2 years ago, and they didnt trade him away. JR and Shump were traded away. THjr was traded for a young PG on draft night. I think there is a difference. You look at THjr last 2 years. He went to the D league, really struggled and popped last year. Is he trending upward or did he just find a comfort zone?

Also the fact that he WAS here is a positive, not a negative. Clearly they liked him as a person but were not high on him as a player. He's turned that corner in a big way. Is the THjr that finished the year the guy we signed? If so the Knicks did just fine. IF not... well that is the risk.

THjr: Trending upward. Finished strong. 24 years old fits with youth timeline. Athletic. Good size for the position. Skills have improved.

Risk: cap hit and dead contract prevents growth from a player like Dotson and hurts Knicks flexibility moving forward.

You know what changes this a lot? If the Knicks get a first rounder or other good asset for Lee.

Read your first sentence again fishbone. "He wasn't traded.. he was traded...."

Dont believe 2 years is that long, and his numbers not so improved that he should be tying up that much cap space for the next 4 years. THJ is going to have to play like a starter, not like someone who has found a niche off the bench.

This is a risk, but it also really smacks of playing it safe. Like going to a system that no one plays anymore because its familiar, or signing players to big contracts because they're from Utah, or Chicago, or they've played here before. Like keeping Mills on regardless of his record. Its a franchise that seeks the familiar. We dont need familiar anymore.

GustavBahler wrote:

fishmike wrote:

GustavBahler wrote:

fishmike wrote:lot of drama here. This is not a move I would have made but its not a head scratcher. THjr turned a big corner and played very well on both sides of the ball. If you are looking for an upward trending young player to risk some money on continuing that trend than THjr is a reasonable gamble. He fits the rebuilding time line. We will see what the other moves are as well.

If Atl doesnt match and the Knicks get a player who continues what he did as a starter last year there is nothing wrong with this. Time will tell. Its not great but its not the total WTF head scratcher that some make it out to be.

A team gives someone a deal like that not long after trading them away, that's drama alright. Im more stunned than anything. I was a fan of THJ his rookie year, was more clutch than Melo that season. But I was glad to see him go after his second season because I thought he flaked out, didn't put in the effort to improve his game. Sounds like Mills isnt going anywhere. This looks like more of the same.

it was 2 years ago, and they didnt trade him away. JR and Shump were traded away. THjr was traded for a young PG on draft night. I think there is a difference. You look at THjr last 2 years. He went to the D league, really struggled and popped last year. Is he trending upward or did he just find a comfort zone?

Also the fact that he WAS here is a positive, not a negative. Clearly they liked him as a person but were not high on him as a player. He's turned that corner in a big way. Is the THjr that finished the year the guy we signed? If so the Knicks did just fine. IF not... well that is the risk.

THjr: Trending upward. Finished strong. 24 years old fits with youth timeline. Athletic. Good size for the position. Skills have improved.

Risk: cap hit and dead contract prevents growth from a player like Dotson and hurts Knicks flexibility moving forward.

You know what changes this a lot? If the Knicks get a first rounder or other good asset for Lee.

Read your first sentence again fishbone. "He wasn't traded.. he was traded...."

Dont believe 2 years is that long, and his numbers not so improved that he should be tying up that much cap space for the next 4 years. THJ is going to have to play like a starter, not like someone who has found a niche off the bench.

This is a risk, but it also really smacks of playing it safe. Like going to a system that no one plays anymore because its familiar, or signing players to big contracts because they're from Utah, or Chicago, or they've played here before. Like keeping Mills on regardless of his record. Its a franchise that seeks the familiar. We dont need familiar anymore.

If the Knicks are getting the player that finished the last 30ish games as a starter than this is a good player and good contract and a good fit with the young guys already here. The risk is he is not that player.

When was the last time the Knicks took a shot on a guy who was 24? This is not same old Knicks. Risky? Sure. Downside? Sure. Same old stupid Knicks? Absolutely not.

His defensive metrics and +/- numbers are excellent.

fishmike wrote:

GustavBahler wrote:

fishmike wrote:

GustavBahler wrote:

fishmike wrote:lot of drama here. This is not a move I would have made but its not a head scratcher. THjr turned a big corner and played very well on both sides of the ball. If you are looking for an upward trending young player to risk some money on continuing that trend than THjr is a reasonable gamble. He fits the rebuilding time line. We will see what the other moves are as well.

If Atl doesnt match and the Knicks get a player who continues what he did as a starter last year there is nothing wrong with this. Time will tell. Its not great but its not the total WTF head scratcher that some make it out to be.

A team gives someone a deal like that not long after trading them away, that's drama alright. Im more stunned than anything. I was a fan of THJ his rookie year, was more clutch than Melo that season. But I was glad to see him go after his second season because I thought he flaked out, didn't put in the effort to improve his game. Sounds like Mills isnt going anywhere. This looks like more of the same.

it was 2 years ago, and they didnt trade him away. JR and Shump were traded away. THjr was traded for a young PG on draft night. I think there is a difference. You look at THjr last 2 years. He went to the D league, really struggled and popped last year. Is he trending upward or did he just find a comfort zone?

Also the fact that he WAS here is a positive, not a negative. Clearly they liked him as a person but were not high on him as a player. He's turned that corner in a big way. Is the THjr that finished the year the guy we signed? If so the Knicks did just fine. IF not... well that is the risk.

THjr: Trending upward. Finished strong. 24 years old fits with youth timeline. Athletic. Good size for the position. Skills have improved.

Risk: cap hit and dead contract prevents growth from a player like Dotson and hurts Knicks flexibility moving forward.

You know what changes this a lot? If the Knicks get a first rounder or other good asset for Lee.

Read your first sentence again fishbone. "He wasn't traded.. he was traded...."

Dont believe 2 years is that long, and his numbers not so improved that he should be tying up that much cap space for the next 4 years. THJ is going to have to play like a starter, not like someone who has found a niche off the bench.

This is a risk, but it also really smacks of playing it safe. Like going to a system that no one plays anymore because its familiar, or signing players to big contracts because they're from Utah, or Chicago, or they've played here before. Like keeping Mills on regardless of his record. Its a franchise that seeks the familiar. We dont need familiar anymore.

totally disagree... this is not familiar at all. Knicks bad contracts have ALWAYS been for over the hill vets or player with no upside. Spoon, Jared Jeffries, Jerome James, Amare, Lee, Noah, Lopez, Afflalo, on and on... I dont ever remember taking a shot on a player with honest upside.

If the Knicks are getting the player that finished the last 30ish games as a starter than this is a good player and good contract and a good fit with the young guys already here. The risk is he is not that player.

When was the last time the Knicks took a shot on a guy who was 24? This is not same old Knicks. Risky? Sure. Downside? Sure. Same old stupid Knicks? Absolutely not.

His defensive metrics and +/- numbers are excellent.

Doubt this deal would have been made if Hardaway hadn't played here before. Not for this kind of money. How many other teams have offered THJ this kind of money? Sounds like a familiar question.

Andrew wrote:Keep in mind....

40M for Curry
33M for Lowry
25M for Jrue Holiday
23M for JJ Reddick
19M for George Hill

And yet media says this is the worst deal of the summer? Really? SMH