Tim Hardaway Jr. has had a solid NBA career, he’s a household name, and there have been some memorable moments. But in reality, THJ is nothing more than a streaky shooter on offense and a bad defender.
The Pistons badly needed spacing last year, and Hardaway Jr. was a great signing for them. He started and played a big role in helping Detroit return to the playoffs. However, he was largely put in an absolutely ideal situation.
The rest of that squad loved to cut and get to the rim, with lots of size and defense at almost every other position. They needed someone to space the floor and be willing to fire at will on open catch and look threes, and that’s exactly what you get in a guy like THJ.
But there were plenty of nights when he didn’t have it, and Malik Beasley actually played the role even better off the bench, almost always finishing games in the closing lineup. Hardaway Jr. filled an important and valuable role, but at the end of the day, it only got them so far, and when the chips were down, he wasn’t always reliable.
Beasley's path to success not as clear in Denver
That’s been the case for most of his career, unfortunately. Now, he’s stepping into a situation in Denver that won’t be catering to his needs so much. The Nuggets love to share the ball, with several guys being as comfortable playing outside as down low. They aren’t a team filled with elite defenders, and they don’t have a lot of rim protection to make up for blow-bys on the perimeter.
They are also a very deep team that now features plenty of shooting options, and they’ll be aiming to win a title from day one. In other words, Hardaway Jr. is going to have to fight for his minutes and earn them, or things may not go well.
Theoretically, Denver could play any of Christian Braun, Cam Johnson, Peyton Watson, or Julian Strawther on the wing. All of those guys can either shoot or defend, and if any of them take a leap, they could pretty easily earn more minutes. That’s a lot of minutes to go around, and it’s not too hard to imagine how THJ could get squeezed out of the rotation.
If he continues to be a sieve on defense, and his shots aren’t falling, it’s going to be hard to justify keeping him on the floor with so many other players chomping at the bit. If he’s able to lock in and step it up, he could be a very valuable piece for this team. And surely, there will be nights when he catches fire and electrifies the crowd with a barrage of threes.
But if he’s not willing to buy into a bench role and adjust his playing style, he could end up being the odd man out. This team has no time for distractions this season, so hopefully he understands the assignment. If so, it will go down as a great signing, but it’s not exactly a slam dunk.