According to Chris Haynes, the Miami Heat have signed Tim Hardaway Jr. to play alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo. It’s their first free-agency move since trading for Antetokounmpo. In doing so, the Heat saved the Los Angeles Lakers from themselves. Pairing Hardaway next to Luka Doncic again would have been a bad idea.
Since entering the league, Hardaway has carved a role out for himself as a sparkplug scorer. However, during his years alongside Doncic on the Dallas Mavericks, he wasn’t great. In fact, they were some of the most inconsistent years of his career. It just didn’t really work for him and Doncic together.
Hardaway could have theoretically been a free-agency target for the Lakers, but the Heat swooped in and saved them from potentially making that mistake.
Tim Hardaway Jr. would have been bad for the Lakers
Last year, Hardaway enjoyed a very successful season with the Denver Nuggets. He slotted in nicely alongside Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and the rest of the team there.
The veteran wing appeared in 80 games, playing 26.6 minutes per contest. He averaged 13.5 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.4 assists while shooting 44.7% from the field and 40.7% from deep range on 6.7 three-point attempts per contest.
He played well enough to earn himself a $6.5 million payday from Miami. And if he can play at a similar level next year, he should fit in nicely next to Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo.
However, had the Lakers tried to bring him on board to play next to Doncic, Austin Reaves, and company, it probably would not have gone as well as they may have liked.
On paper, Hardaway’s stats during his time in Dallas were fine. He looked like a solid three-point shooter and sparkplug scorer for them. But in reality, it wasn’t ideal.
Hardaway’s lack of defense hurt his fit next to Doncic. And his inconsistency from behind the three-point line took away from his overall effectiveness. And he was a starter for them at times.
At the end of the day, the Lakers need 3-and-D players next to Doncic. Can some of them do one of those things better than the other? Yes, absolutely.
But Hardaway isn’t a consistent enough three-point shooter for how average he is on the defensive end. That’s a big reason why it didn’t work out in Dallas, and it’s why it wouldn’t have worked in LA.
Luckily, the Heat scooped him up before the Lakers could even consider the option.
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