Getty New York Knicks guard Tim Hardaway Jr.
There’s an obvious reason to believe the New York Knicks could use the NBA trade deadline as a way to both clear cap space and add assets for the future. The question is, how active could the Knicks opt to be in the coming weeks? With a big 2019 free agency ahead and multiple stars set to hit the open market, the team obviously has their sights set on a star, but a few moves could help with that.
One of those possible moves would be trading guard Tim Hardaway Jr. prior to the deadline. Unfortunately, there are a few problems with that, and The Athletic’s Mike Vorkunov detailed the biggest, which is that the Knicks don’t want to add assets to a deal with Hardaway.
“Teams have asked the Knicks about Hardaway Jr. and Lee, according to league sources, but the Knicks have been adamant about not attaching assets to move them. Maybe a playoff team in need of scoring or wings will accede at some point and offer the Knicks a worthwhile return, or maybe the pressure of the trade deadline can make things move along.”
Hardaway, along with Courtney Lee, both have big contracts which led to the chatter of additional pieces potentially being added to sweeten a deal. While Hardaway, specifically, could play a solid role on a contender, the hold up on New York’s end could keep the duo with the team beyond the deadline.
Tim Hardaway Jr.’s Contract Makes Trade Tougher
The Knicks gave Hardaway a four-year, $70.95 million deal which is only in year two currently, per Spotrac. Beyond that, even if the Knicks were able to move the $18.15 million cap hit for 2019-20 off the books, they’ll still absorb a 15 percent trade kicker. Hardaway has a player option in 2020, but with a salary of $18.975 million that year, it’s likely he’d opt in and keep the deal, barring something drastic.
Due to the big cap hit and the player option, this surely plays a big role in teams looking for additional assets in a trade. It’s not quite a “salary dump,” a phrase which is often used, due to the fact that Hardaway is productive, but his deal is one that many teams don’t overly interested in taking on.
Tim Hardaway Jr.’s Mixed Bag of Results With Knicks
On the one hand, Hardaway is having the best year of his career from a scoring perspective, averaging 19.6 points per game. He previously hit a personal best last season when averaging 17.5 points, which came on 42.1 percent shooting. With Hardaway’s increased scoring volume, the concern is that his shooting numbers have dipped even more, as he’s made just 39.3 percent of his attempts this year.
As tough as that number is to swallow, the positive side is that his shooting from beyond the arc has actually improved from 2017-18 to this season. The previous mark of 31.7 percent from 3-point range in 57 games last year has increased to 35.2 percent in 2018-19. Although it’s not a mind-blowing number, there’s no question that he could play a solid role with a contender down the stretch and in the playoffs.
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