Atlanta Hawks Player Appraisal: Tim Hardaway Jr.
The Atlanta Hawks have several players on expiring contracts this season. What is the value of shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr.?
When the Hawks traded the draft rights to Kelly Oubre, the 15th overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, in a three-team exchange that brought back Tim Hardaway Jr., many were scratching their heads.
Was Hardaway Jr. worth that high of a draft pick? Could he improve from an erratic second season?
And in his first season with the Hawks, Hardaway Jr. struggled to impress and to stay on the court on a consistent basis. The former Michigan star averaged just 6.4 points per game in 16.9 minutes and was left on the bench a good deal due to defensive liabilities.
More from Hawks News
- Start, Bench, Cut: Sorting through the Hawks’ power forward options
- Hawks’ Bogdan Bogdanovic reacts to earning FIBA World Cup championship bid
- When does training camp start for the Atlanta Hawks?
- Dejounte Murray rips NBA 2K after Atlanta Hawks ratings reveal
- Hawks’ Bogdan Bogdanovic makes special dedication after FIBA win
But here in his second year in coach mike Budenholzer’s system, Hardaway Jr. has begun to hit his stride and live up to the promise that he showed in his rookie year with the New York Knicks.
The son of Hall-of-Fame point guard Tim Hardaway Sr., the younger Hardaway has averaged 13.7 points per game for the Hawks this season and has really caught fire of late.
In the month of March, Hardaway Jr. is putting up 18.8 points per game and has, maybe, been the Hawks’ best offensive player for the last month or two. He is becoming a much more consistent three-point shooter, shooting a career-best 37% from downtown and has shot greater than 38% for each of the past three months.
And as always, Hardaway Jr. still has a quick first step and is an effective attacker of the basket. Whether it be finishing at the rim or stopping on a dime to pull up from mid-range, his interior attack is becoming even more polished.
Hardaway Jr. has also been used in a variety of roles this season. Whether it be in a starting role or as a sixth man, he has proven that he can be a go-to scorer for the Hawks at any time in the game. And Hardaway Jr. has also not backed down from the big moments either.
But this offseason, Hardaway Jr. will be a restricted free agent.
This means that the Hawks will have the chance to match any offer sheet that Hardaway Jr. may sign. But it seems certain that any sheet will not be cheap.
It would not be surprising to see a team give him an offer in the neighborhood of four years/$75 million, the same figure that Allen Crabbe drew this past summer. That number is a bit high but could be a better value than the contract that the Hawks gave to Kent Bazemore (four years/$70 million) before this season.
Realistically, Hardaway Jr.’s value is probably closer to the four years/$60-$68 million, for an average annual value of $15-$17 million. That would be a good number for the Hawks given that he is just now entering his prime at age 25.
Free agent values are hard to predict this far in advance, especially with the new increases in the salary cap that have been implemented.
Next: Atlanta Hawks: What Dennis Schroder Needs to Work On
But one thing is certain. Tim Hardaway Jr. has proven himself to be the scorer that the Hawks need and has become a valuable piece of the future.