New York Knicks: Tim Hardaway Jr. wants Carmelo Anthony to stay
Recent signee Tim Hardaway Jr. publicly voiced his desire for Carmelo Anthony to remain a member of the New York Knicks for the 2017-18 season.
The New York Knicks recently turned back the clocks by signing free agent shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr. to a four-year contract. Hardaway Jr. spent the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons with the Knicks, but had been with the Atlanta Hawks since the 2015 NBA Draft.
As Hardaway Jr. prepares for his lucrative return to New York, he’s making one thing perfectly clear: he wants to experience it with Carmelo Anthony.
Anthony and Hardaway Jr. became teammates and friends between 2013 and 2015. The two continued to train together as recently as the 2017 offseason, which some feel played a role in the 25-year-old’s return to The Mecca.
According to Ian Begley of ESPN New York, Hardaway Jr. publicly acknowledged that he wants Anthony to be his teammate come 2017-18.
"“Yeah, it’s an odd feeling. Melo’s got to do what’s best for his family and for him. Yes, we definitely want him back – no question,” Hardaway Jr. said during a chat with reporters at a Knicks youth camp. “Just having that veteran leader out there on the floor, a go-to guy who can get you a bucket any given moment of the game, it’s great. It’s great to have that. You want to have that. It’ll be tough for him to leave. But like I say, he has to do what’s best for him and his family.”"
It’s fair to debate whether or not Anthony should stay, but the reality is that he has the final say on the matter.
With a no-trade clause in his contract, Anthony can either accept or deny any trade package that he’s included in. It’s been rumored that he’d be willing to accept a trade to either the Cleveland Cavaliers or the Houston Rockets, but both teams are thin on attractive assets.
A third team could be included in trade negotiations, but if Hardaway Jr. has it his way, the 33-year-old Anthony will help bring along the youth movement.
By retaining Anthony in a depleted Eastern Conference, it’s justifiable for the players to believe New York could even make a long-awaited return to the playoffs.
Hardaway Jr. is coming off of the best season of his four-year NBA career. He averaged career-best marks of 14.5 points per game and 19.1 points per 36 minutes, and converted a career-high 141 3-point field goals made on 35.7 percent shooting.
If Hardaway Jr. can continue his development as a member of the Knicks, then it stands to reason that head coach Jeff Hornacek will be winning sooner than later.
The hurdle with Anthony is that, while he still has quite a bit left in the tank at 33 years of age, New York’s core is quite young. Come the 2017-18 NBA regular season, Frank Ntilikina will be 19 years of age, Kristaps Porzingis will be 22, and Willy Hernangomez will be 23.
If Anthony’s end-goal is to win a championship in 2017-18, then the Knicks may not be able to accommodate his fair and rational request.
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If Carmelo Anthony wants to finish what he started, however, $71 million man Tim Hardaway Jr. will support his continued tenure with the New York Knicks.