The New York Knicks are banking on Tim Hardaway Jr. realizing his star potential. There’s still work to be done, but Hardaway Jr. has come a long way since 2013-14.
The New York Knicks have officially committed to a youth movement. Not only have the Knicks gone against the internal grain by valuing the NBA Draft, but general manager Steve Mills committed a hefty sum to 25-year-old shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr.
With the Knicks committed to the belief that Hardaway Jr. will justify the $71 million coming his way, it’s only rational to explore how rational an investment it was.
There’s no possible way to predict the future, but the past can be a fair indicator of what’s to come. In the curious case of Hardaway Jr., his past shows just how far he’s come in his four years in the Association.
Between his first two years with the Knicks and the two seasons that followed with the Atlanta Hawks, Hardaway Jr. has offered reason for intrigue.
This isn’t to say that the $71 million figure is justifiable; the justification will only come from Hardaway Jr.’s future performances on the court. The past paints a promising picture, however, and that can be proven statistically.
The question is: How has Tim Hardaway Jr. progressed over the course of his four-year career and what might his success indicate about his future with the New York Knicks?
Note: The slash lines listed consist of 2-point field goal percentage, 3-point field goal percentage, and free throw percentage.