Knicks Trade Rumors: Five potential destinations for Tim Hardaway Jr.

3. Atlanta Hawks

Per Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News, the New York Knicks shopped Frank Ntilikina to the Atlanta Hawks, but were rebuffed because of Trae Young‘s presence at point guard. That’s despite questions on Ntilikina’s role as a distributor.

While Ntilikina does not connect much to Hardaway, the Hawks are still a destination due to what they can send back, salary-wise.

Jeremy Lin makes $13.76 million in the final year of his deal. There’s probably no future for him in a return to New York, despite the fanfare of 2012’s “Linsanity.” They need the cap space, but with uncertainty at point guard, he can at least receive reserve minutes.

Hardaway becomes a veteran guard to work with Young and Kevin Huerter, providing some stability in a bench role.

Atlanta taking Hardaway’s salary, which they opted not to match in 2017 when the Knicks made a free-agent offer sheet, seems questionable without them receiving something in return. His money removes a chunk of their future salary-cap space, and, in this rebuild, taking that away and not assuming a draft pick or young player from New York makes little sense, especially with Kent Bazemore‘s sizeable salary at shootiing guard.