Tim Hardaway Sr. said on FanDuel TV's "Run It Back" that he thinks the Denver Nuggets need to bring his son, Tim Hardaway Jr., back. The 34-year-old will be an unrestricted free agent after he signed a one-year, veteran's minimum deal with the team last summer. He upped his value this past season, but maybe he's willing to take less from the Nuggets than other teams may offer to run it back.
If anyone has a good idea of what THJ wants to do, it has to be his own father. Maybe that was Hardaway Sr.'s way of saying that his son wants to stay with Denver, but it's just a matter of making it actually happen.
“I still think they need Tim Hardaway Jr. there to come off the bench.” https://t.co/ne8s4P5TnJ
— Vinny Benedetto (@VBenedetto) May 13, 2026
Hardaway Sr. also said that he thinks Denver should run it back next year, adding that if the team had stayed healthy, they would've advanced past the Timberwolves in the first round.
Josh Kroenke said last week that "everything is on the table" for the Nuggets outside of trading Nikola Jokić. He said that running it back is an option, which is the route that they should take with the MVP center still playing at a high level. If that's the direction they take, bringing back THJ could be a priority for them in free agency, aside from re-signing Peyton Watson.
Tim Hardaway Sr. says Nuggets should bring his son back
Denver currently has 11 players under contract for next season, and is already pushing right up against the second tax apron. Remember, that's not accounting for the salaries of free agents they want to retain/bring in, including Hardaway, if that's a player they want to bring back.
The Kroenkes don't exactly have a reputation for doing whatever it takes financially to put the team in a winning position, meaning going over the second apron if necessary. Maybe they will change their tune, but especially with the penalties that come with being an apron team, that doesn't seem likely.
Hardaway's next contract isn't going to break the bank or anything after he averaged 13.5 points per game on a career-high 40.7% from three in the regular season (earning a spot as a Sixth Man of the Year finalist), but the most that Denver can offer him is $4.7 million in 2026-27. That's about $2.5 million more than he made this past year, but other teams in need of shooting can still offer more.
He truly seemed to enjoy this past season with the Nuggets, though, and that means something, just as it does that his father thinks Denver should bring him back. Maybe THJ will work with the team to make that happen, hoping it ends with his first championship.
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