One of the rumors that emerged in the aftermath of the Kyle Korver trade was that Tim Hardaway Jr. was being dangled in trade offers. The expected return? A second-round pick. Remember, the Hawks traded him straight-up for their freshly-drafted first-rounder, Jerian Grant.
Don’t try to tell me that Hardaway Jr.’s trade value has gone from a first rounder to a second rounder in one and a half seasons. He’s actually played reasonably well in his time with the Hawks. There must be some reason (other than on-court production) why the Hawks are so eager to get rid of him that they’re fielding any lowball offer that comes their way.
Here’s my crazy conspiracy theory: Hardaway Jr. ruins team chemistry by bringing up who his dad is every time a coach or teammate tells him that he needs to improve on one thing or another. He even has highlight videos of his dad ready to go on his phone at all times so he can shut people up with footage of his dad’s illustrious NBA career. Everybody in the organization is sick of it and they want to unload him to the first team that is dumb enough to take on such a toxic player. I said this was a “crazy” “conspiracy” “theory” but it’s actually none of those three things. It’s a sane well-reasoned fact.