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Grant Afseth: Final: Mavericks 131, Nuggets 130 Cooper Flagg: 33 PTS, 9 REB, 9 AST Anthony Davis: 31 PTS, 9 REB, 4 AST Naji Marshall: 15 PTS, 4 REB, 3 AST Jamal Murray: 31 PTS, 7 REB, 14 AST Nikola Jokić: 29 PTS, 7 REB, 14 AST Tim Hardaway Jr.: 23 PTS, 2 REB, 1 AST Dallas (21-7) faces the Warriors on the road on Thursday as part of the NBA's Christmas Day slate.
His son watched the highlights the next morning and nodded. “I was like, ‘Well, that’s dad for you,’” Hardaway Jr. told The Denver Post, laughing. The legendary ejection was the highlight of Sr.’s cup of coffee in Colorado. Traded from Dallas mid-season in 2002, he played 14 games for the Nuggets in what turned out to be the penultimate season of his Hall-of-Fame career. It’s not much, but it makes the Hardaways the first father-son duo to both suit up for Denver’s NBA team after the Nuggets put the finishing touches on their critically acclaimed offseason this July when they signed Hardaway Jr. to a one-year vet minimum contract. “My dad was dragging his leg that whole entire (2001-02) year,” he reminisced. “I can’t believe he was actually out there playing.”
Jonathan Kuminga is still locked in a prolonged contract dispute with your old team, the Golden State Warriors. Neither side seems convinced about the long-term fit, but restricted free agency has kept him in limbo. From your perspective, how does restricted free agency limit young players’ ability to control their careers? Tim Hardaway:I will tell you this: the (players) had to agree on that CBA. They had to agree on their CBA. You can disagree on it, and you can take a hard stance and say, “Look, I'm not going to agree to it. I don't want it.” A lot of these guys have to just stand on what they believe in. I think that in all Collective Bargaining Agreement talks, there’s probably one or two owners that don't want something in the CBA. There are about a hundred or 200 people that's on the other side with the teams or the players that don't want something. So they all gotta come together– and I guarantee you – the majority of them didn't wanna go that way, but they were persuaded to go that way because they were looking at the money that they were getting already.
You played for Pat Riley, and he’s still running things in Miami. What was your reaction to how the Jimmy Butler era ended with the Heat? Tim Hardaway:I was surprised. But Jimmy is gonna be Jimmy. Jimmy wanted an extension. Pat Riley said, “Why do I owe you an extension? You were hurt for the last couple of years going into the play-in game.” I know some things that were going on there that Jimmy was doing that I can't reveal, but it wasn't good and it wasn't good for the team. It wasn't good for the organization, and it was tearing the organization apart, and it was tearing the team apart a little bit. But Jimmy is a great basketball player; he wanted what he wanted. Pat was like “No, I'm not gonna give you what you want, because I gotta take a stance on something”
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Tim Hardaway: We were used to playing and practicing, playing and practicing. We were used to it 'cause our body was used to it, you know? People are trying to do this study about gym shoes, low cuts, why they hurt their Achilles, and stuff like that. I say their bones are still fragile. Their bones haven't matured. Their bones haven't really gotten strong because a lot of these guys, if you look at them , don't drink milk. They don't drink real vitamin D milk. When we were growing up, our parents urged us to drink vitamin D milk. It is kind of funny, you know, 'cause I laugh when I say this, you know? We used to pass gas in school a lot because of the vitamin D milk, and walk around passing gas. But you know what? It was for your bones. It helps your bones get stronger. When you broke an arm, when you broke a shoulder, when you broke something, broke a wrist, they always, the doctors, were like, drink milk, drink milk, drink milk. That's going to mend your bones and make it stronger.
Tim Hardaway on Luka Doncic: I think he has a really, really, really good chance of winning MVP. He should have won it probably about two years ago. But he didn't win it. He's that talented. But he still gotta do other stuff. Just because you lose weight, he's still gonna be the same Luka. This is not overseas. This is the NBA. You're still gonna have to keep your feet in front of people. They are still gonna go at you. Just 'cause you lost weight,, they don't believe that you could play defense now. You can move your feet now. You are as agile as you should be, and this and that. You're still 6’8, you’re still kinda slow. You still move at your own pace. But I would put Luka down as MVP this year.
Tim Hardaway: I don't know where they're going to really play Cooper Flagg at, and I don't know how they're going to play him. I don't know how they're gonna use them, because you gotta understand – these guys have already won championships. Klay’s that won championships, you got AD that’s won championships. I know you are the number one pick, but how are you gonna help us, and how are we gonna help you? That's something that Dallas needs to figure out. This guy's a great talent. I think he's going to grow. He got the mind level to grow as a really good basketball player. But you gotta remember, he's a rookie. He's only 18, 19 years old. He's coming in. His confidence can falter. You gotta have strong people that can build him up and keep him up. It's gonna be tough, man. It's gonna be tough If they stay healthy, they can contend in the West for a Championship. But they gotta stay healthy, because I like the pieces that they have.
Thinking back to the Jimmy Butler trade drama last season — how do players manage constant trade rumors during the season? Tim Hardaway:You can't have a weak mind. Tyler Herro didn't have a weak mind. He blocked all that BS out. He went out there and understood what he needed to do. First of all, he wanted to be healthy. That's his first thing. He wanted to come out and, and play healthy all season long, which he did. He knew what he could do. And once all that Butler drama happened, he said, “You know what? This ain't my BS.. I'm already signed. I'm already here. Let me go out and do what I'm supposed to do for my team. I'm gonna put them on my back, I'm gonna be the leader of this team, and I'm going to try to carry this team to that next level.” That's what he did. That's what you gotta do as a basketball player. You gotta leave all that other stuff alone. When somebody talks to you, say the right things and just keep it moving.
What’s your reaction to the Kawhi Leonard-Clippers salary-cap investigation? Tim Hardaway: Hey, if you can do it, you can do it! If you get away with it, you get away with it. But I tell you this – where there's smoke, there's fire. If the NBA thinks that you are wrong about doing stuff like that. They’re gonna get you, they're gonna get you. I say this – I'm not for sure. I'm not sure. I’ve heard things. I heard things, just like a lot of people have heard things, that a lot of that has been going on. We are talking about the 80s, the 90s. A lot of that has been going on. Under the salary cap, you can't pay 'em this, you can't pay 'em that. Just don't get caught!
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The NBA announced on Monday that basketball legends Tim Hardaway Sr, Stephon Marbury, Shawn Marion, Shaquille O'Neal, Mitch Richmond and Deron Williams will headline the first-ever NBA House event to be held in China, set to take place in Macao from Oct 8 – 12. An interactive fan event and immersive basketball experience celebrating the convergence of basketball, music, fashion and technology, NBA House will be held at The Venetian, Macao, in conjunction with the NBA China Games 2025 presented by Taobao 88VIP.
Bobby Marks: The free agent market has significantly dried up since late June. While Detroit still retains his non-bird rights, the maximum they can sign him for his $7.2M. The Pistons have signed Caris LeVert, Duncan Robinson, Javonte Green to replace Beasley and Tim Hardaway Jr. They also expect Jaden Ivey to return.
The Detroit Pistons are gauging the trade market on forward Simone Fontecchio, who’s on an expiring $8.3 million deal, league sources told HoopsHype. With Malik Beasley’s gambling investigation, the Sacramento Kings expected to pursue Dennis Schroeder in free agency strongly, the possibility Detroit loses Tim Hardaway Jr., and a Fontecchio salary dump trade happens, the Pistons could create $24 million in space to pursue Nickeil Alexander-Walker and other free agents.
“So I think Pat has done as good of a job as anybody can to be in that position for so long and go through so many generations. Yeah, we all know he’s old. But he’s still sharp as a tool, at the same time. He’s one of the sharpest men that you will sit down and talk to. So he’s very, very good at his job. But also, too, like all of us, he has ways that he wants to see things run and see things done and he’s going to do it that way. But also, too, he’s going to make some adjustments. I think they made a lot of adjustments when Jimmy came, which [LeBron James] didn’t experience and I didn’t experience. The same thing with Tim [Hardaway] and [Alonzo Mourning], we experienced something that they didn’t experience. “What I like to say is you have to stand on something. And the culture is what the Heat stands on. It doesn’t matter whether you feel like the word culture has been overused or not. But every organization doesn’t have it.