Penny hints at return to Magic
The former Orlando guard says he would like to finish his career where it began.
By Tim Povtak
Sentinel Staff Writer
December 28, 2004
Penny Hardaway could be back in an Orlando Magic uniform.
There was bitterness when the Magic traded him to the Phoenix Suns in 1999 -- blaming him for the team's playoff collapse that season -- but Hardaway said Monday he would love to finish his career here.
"Of course I'd like that," he said before Monday's Magic/Knicks game. "It's a crazy business. It all goes around 360 degrees sometimes, and you end up where you started. I still love this area."
Hardaway, now in his second season with the Knicks, was at TD Waterhouse Centre on Monday. He is on the injured list because of a strained right hamstring that has plagued him throughout December.
Although he expects to return to action shortly after the first of the year, he still isn't sure if he fits in the Knicks' long-term plans.
They have veteran starters Allan Houston and Stephon Marbury. And they also like backups Jamal Crawford (out with turf toe) and rookie Trevor Ariza, making Hardaway the fifth guard in the rotation.
At age 33, he isn't the player he once was -- a first-team All-NBA guard who helped the Magic reach the NBA Finals in 1995 -- yet he still believes there is more to his game than the Knicks realize.
He is averaging just 6.6 points and 2.1 assists, the lowest output of his 11-season career. There is one more year remaining on the seven-year $86 million contract he signed in Phoenix, but there also is talk that the Knicks will buy out the final year, making him a free agent this summer.
Because he is under contract, Magic officials were unable to comment on his possible free agency.
Hardaway played his first six NBA seasons in Orlando, averaging 19 points and six assists. He and Shaquille O'Neal led the Magic to their finest season, although it ended with a disappointing sweep in the NBA Finals.
O'Neal left as a free agent after the 1995-96 season. Hardaway struggled with knee problems the next two seasons. In five of the last seven seasons, he has missed numerous games with injuries.
"It's like I haven't played much in the last five years. But I'm ready to play again," he said. "We'll see what happens."
Although O'Neal has kept his Orlando residence since leaving the Magic, Hardaway sold his property in Isleworth. He talked Monday about returning this summer to buy property here, planning for his eventual retirement in Central Florida.
"I'm going to build a home here," he said. "It only makes sense that coming back [to play] would really interest me."
See ya scrub!
JAMES DOLAN on Isiah : He's a good friend of mine and of the organization and I will continue to solicit his views. He will always have strong ties to me and the team.
12/28/2004 5:30 PM