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Atlanta Hawks decline to match offer for Tim Hardaway Jr.

By Brendan Galella

NEW ORLEANS, LA - JANUARY 05: Tim Hardaway Jr. #10 of the Atlanta Hawks warms up before a game against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center on January 5, 2017 in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA - JANUARY 05: Tim Hardaway Jr. #10 of the Atlanta Hawks warms up before a game against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center on January 5, 2017 in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /
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The Atlanta Hawks will let Tim Hardaway Jr. join the Knicks after signing a four-year, $71 million contract offer.

The offer sheet signed by restricted free agent Tim Hardaway Jr. proved to be too rich for the Atlanta Hawks.

Instead of retaining Hardaway for a salary of $16.5 million next season, nearly one-fifth of the $99 million cap for the 2017-18 season, Atlanta let him join the New York Knicks.

The loss of Hardaway creates another opening in the rotation, as Paul Millsap left the team without a contract offer to join Denver and Dwight Howard was traded away to the Hornets.

Hardaway was the last key rotation player yet to land a new deal, but his contract offer from New York was well above the amount the Hawks were willing to spend on the 25-year-old shooting guard.

Atlanta had until 11 p.m. (ET) Saturday, a period of 48 hours, to match the offer made by the Knicks to Hardaway, but ultimately declined to match the deal.

As part of the contract presented by the Knicks, Hardaway’s pay will increase each year, with a salary of $19 million in the final year of the contract.

Along with the lofty dollar figure, Hardaway possesses a player option for the fourth year of the deal and has a trade kicker of 15 percent — a bonus worth 15 percent of his contract, excluding the final year of his deal if he is shipped out to another team.

Just six players, Dennis Schroder, Taurean Prince, Kent Bazemore, DeAndre Bembry, Mike Muscala and Malcolm Delaney, remain on the roster from last season.

General manager Travis Schlenk, brought in from Golden State following Atlanta’s first round playoff loss to Washington, values cap flexibility. Even without proven commodities on the roster, Schlenk is not willing to retain Hardaway.

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    • During his fourth season in the league, Hardaway set career-high marks in several categories: minutes (27.3), points (14.5), rebounds (2.8), assists (2.3) and steals (0.7) per game.

    Hardaway connected a team-high 149 times from three-point range, tying him with Gordon Hayward and Wayne Ellington for the 26th-most in the league.

    Even as he continued to improve, his tenure with the Hawks was always uncertain. Atlanta failed to extend his contract by the Nov. 1 deadline a year ago, and offered him a one-year, $4.6 million contract to keep him as a restricted free agent this summer.

    Hardaway declined to sign the deal, instead testing the free agent market. The moved proved to be a savvy one.

    By holding out, Hardaway is likely to be among the 50 highest paid players in the league, even though he ranked in the top-50 in just one category (three-point field goals made).

    New York increased his salary by nearly four times the amount, paying him $100,000 more than Golden State forward Draymond Green, an All-Star that won Defensive Player of the Year honors a year ago.

    At times, Hardaway proved to be a viable scoring option for the Hawks, as he submitted a pair of 30-point efforts and connected five or more times from three-point range on five occasions.

    Consistent efforts eluded Hardaway all season long, limiting him to just 30 starts. Opponents managed to prevent him from converting a single shot in 10 different games, and he was held to five or fewer points nine times.

    Atlanta Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer was in search of an offensive spark during the postseason and decided to start Hardaway in place of defensive specialist Thabo Sefolosha. The move ultimately didn’t pan out, as Hardaway averaged 12.8 points per game on 32.9 percent shooting from the field and 26.2 percent shooting from three-point range.

    The Wizards managed to outscore Atlanta by just seven points in the series, as Bradley Beal poured in an additional 78 points over Hardaway during the six-game set. Hardaway totaled 77 points in the six contests.

    Instead of extending a lofty salary to a player that may have already reached his ceiling as an average three-point shooter and scorer in the NBA, Atlanta is beginning to focus on its youth.

    Dennis Schroder will anchor the offense, while first round pick John Collins could become the primary interior scoring option.

    In his first Summer League appearance, DeAndre’ Bembry exploded for 22 points on 10-of-18 shooting from the field against the Nets.

    Next: 2017 NBA free agency tracker - Grades for every deal so far

    Hardaway may still develop into a key rotation piece, but it won’t be for the Atlanta Hawks.

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