Erik Spoelstra has been around Tim Hardaway Jr. longer than most people realize. Not as a coach scouting a future rotation piece. As a babysitter of sorts.
Back when Spoelstra was a Heat assistant in the late 1990s, Tim Hardaway Sr. was running the point for Miami. His young son would hang around the old Miami Arena, and somebody had to keep him from tearing through the building.
“My task was to keep him on the practice court and not let him run around all over the place,” Spoelstra said Thursday. “Now he was only here in this building for one year, but I remember seeing him at the old Miami Arena.”
That kid is now 34 years old and coming to Miami on a deal after the Heat pulled off the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade. Filling a need the team couldn’t ignore: perimeter shooting. Hardaway Jr. has made a career out of launching threes with confidence. That skill alone makes the fit obvious.
But Spoelstra sees something else in him.
“He’s a volatile competitor,” Spoelstra said. “I even like that possibility of him barking and yelling if he’s not getting enough clean looks. Those guys are like wide receivers sometimes. But I like that passion.”
Hardaway Jr. grew up in Miami, which makes this signing sentimental for everyone involved. His father’s No. 10 hangs in the rafters at Kaseya Center. The younger Hardaway will wear that same number. Spoelstra mentioned the uniform “means something” to him.
The Hardaway fit next to Giannis
Antetokounmpo draws so much defensive attention that shooters around him tend to feast. The Heat needed someone who could catch and fire without hesitation. Hardaway Jr. does exactly that. He doesn’t need dribbles or setup time. He spots up, toes the line, and lets it go.
Spoelstra compared him to a wide receiver for a reason. Guys like that want the ball. They get restless when they don’t. The coach isn’t bothered by that edge. He called it “ignitable.”
“I think he fits in really well,” Spoelstra said. “And once we got Giannis, he fits in even more so.”
Hardaway Jr. spent last season with the Pistons, averaging 14.3 points per game while shooting 36.8 percent from three. Those numbers should look similar or better playing alongside Antetokounmpo and the Heat’s system.
This is a new chapter for him, obviously. One that circles back to where he spent parts of his childhood, running around a practice court while a future Hall of Fame coach tried to keep him corralled.
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