Hawks won’t match Knicks’ ludicrous Tim Hardaway Jr. offer, per report

The Atlanta Hawks will not match the New York Knicks’ massive four-year, $71 million contract offer to Tim Hardaway Jr., according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. It’s not yet official, but the restricted free agent will ultimately be a Knick for the second time in as many years.

It’s no surprise that the Hawks, who are now in full rebuild mode after not even offering Paul Millsap a contract, decided not to match what may be the worst contract of the entire summer.

Hardaway had a much improved year with Atlanta last season, playing in 79 games and scoring 14.5 points per game on 46 percent shooting. He added two assists and made 36 percent of his three-pointers too. But the absurd contract, which includes a player option and trade kicker sweeteners, is not what the Hawks wanted to invest in as they move forward. There will be similar players on the market for a cheaper price.

How Hardaway became a Knick again.

Some peak Knicks action sent Hardaway to Atlanta and back in two years with an enormous price tag.

Phil Jackson dealt him for Jerian Grant two years ago in what looked like a nice move to see if the team could find a young point guard. Then Grant was sent to the Bulls in a trade that gave New York Derrick Rose. That experiment turned out poorly, so now the Knicks get the guy they handed away for a late first-round pick back again for $71 million.

The Knicks really Knicksed.

Knicks fans will see no miracle with a surprise Atlanta match. New York all but officially has more than one-third of its cap space invested in Hardaway and an injured and suspended Joakim Noah. Not great!

There’s room for Hardaway to improve at just 25 years old, but it’ll be tough for him to live up to that type of contract. He’ll space out as a shooter next to rookie Frank Ntilikina, but it’s tough to imagine that New York couldn’t have found another player for a much cheaper price. Or even a player on a shorter-term contract that keeps future cap space open.