Getty Tim Hardaway Jr. Against the Miami Heat
The Dallas Mavericks were in Oklahoma City to face the Thunder on Tuesday night, and before the game, guard Tim Hardway Jr. was signing autographs. During the autograph session, Hardaway Jr. declined to sign New York Knicks memorabilia.
“I don’t like the Knicks one, I don’t like signing the Knicks ones,” said Hardway Jr.
Tim Hardaway Jr. was traded by the Knicks to Dallas last season at the trade deadline, along with Kristaps Porzingis, Courtney Lee, and Trey Burke. At the same time, the Knicks received Dennis Smith Jr., Wes Matthews, DeAndre Jordan, and likely first-round draft pick compensation, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Sources: Full players involved in Knicks/Mavericks deal:
Kristaps Porzingis, Tim Hardaway Jr., Courtney Lee, Trey Burke to Dallas.
Dennis Smith Jr., Wes Matthews, DeAndre Jordan and likely first-round draft pick compensation to New York.
It seems like Hardaway still holds some animosity towards the Knicks since they traded him twice. The first time was to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for the No. 19 pick on June 25, 2015, which was used on Jerian Grant, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
The second time was last season after the two sides agreed to a four-year deal worth $71 million, as Shams Charania detailed. The contract also included a player option in the fourth year as well as a 15 percent salary increase if traded.
Hardaway Jr. is currently out nursing a hamstring injury, which he suffered in Sunday night’s 108-95 loss against the Los Angeles Lakers on the road. He is averaging 13.7 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 32 games this season with the Mavericks.
Tim Hardaway, Jr. Thinks Knicks Gave up on Him & Porzingis Too Soon
Back in March of 2019, Hardaway spoke with Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News and shared that he felt the Knicks gave up on him and Kristaps Porzingis to quickly.
“I let them know we definitely had something good going here my first time back with KP and myself in the lineup at the same time. Then I got injured, then he got injured. And then it kind of went downhill from there,” Hardaway said.“I let them know what we had was special, and I really think they didn’t give us an opportunity to have KP. That’s what I told them. But it is what it is. We move forward.”
“Yeah, it’s mind-blowing, and it’s kind of weird when you go back to a team, and they trade you again,” he said. “So it’s weird, but at the same time, you have to move forward.”
Tim Hardaway Jr. on Rick Carlslie Fixing His Shot
Earlier this month, ESPN’s Radio play-by-play announcer Chuck Cooperstein shared that Hardaway’s inspired play this season could be thanks to Carlisle tweaking his shot a bit.
Hardaway spoke afterward about how Carlisle worked with him individually on his shot to make some small corrections that obviously worked.
Hardaway spoke afterward about how Carlisle worked with him individually on his shot to make some small correction that obviously worked. It’s an incredible quality that RC has. Very few HCs spend that time leaving it to development coaches. He goes the extra mile
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