2017 NBA free agency tracker: Grades for every deal so far
Tim Hardaway Jr.: 4 years, $71 million (New York Knicks)
Atlanta RFA Tim Hardaway Jr. has signed a four-year offer sheet with the New York Knicks, league sources tell The Vertical.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 7, 2017
Story with @Ianbegley: Restricted free agent Tim Hardaway Jr., has signed a 4-year, $71M offer sheet with New York.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 7, 2017
Atlanta will not match New York's $71M offer sheet to Tim Hardaway Jr., but official notification still hours away, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 8, 2017
We’ve finally arrived: The first truly indefensible deal of 2017 NBA free agency! Leave it to the New York Knicks to be ones to step forward, after so many weeks of inactivity led their tortured fan base to believe things might actually get better.
Instead, the Knicks have put forth this year’s version of the Timofey Mozgov train wreck, bidding against themselves with a four-year, $71 million offer sheet for Tim Hardaway Jr., the Atlanta Hawks’ restricted free agent.
You know, Tim Hardaway Jr. — the guy New York drafted in 2013, traded to the Hawks in 2015, and are now willing to pay nearly $18 million a season for — with a 15 percent trade kicker, no less. THJ just had his best season yet, averaging 14.5 points per game on .455/.357/.766 shooting splits, but this is a massive reach for the 25-year-old.
For the Hawks, losing an up-and-coming talent for nothing is obviously not ideal, but to suggest he’s a legitimate building block in the team’s full-scale rebuild would be foolish. They’re better off not matching such an ugly contract, even if it costs them an improving young player.
Bourguet Grade for Knicks: D
Bourguet Grade for Hawks: B-
HoopsHabit Grade for Knicks: C
HoopsHabit Grade for Hawks: TBD