Tim Hardaway Jr. walked into the Kaseya Center on Wednesday and officially became a Miami Heat player. For him, this wasn’t just another signing. It was a return to the place where his father’s jersey hangs in the rafters and where he used to ride in the passenger seat as a kid, heading north on U.S. 1, getting on I-95, and pulling off at the arena exit.
Now he’s the one wearing No. 10, despite his dad’s initial hesitation about it. And he’s about to be coached by a guy who once held him as a toddler holding a Heat basketball.
That guy is Erik Spoelstra.
What Hardaway Expects From Spoelstra Now
There’s an Instagram clip floating around of Spoelstra and Hardaway laughing together after the deal became official, reminiscing about the old days when Spoelstra was an assistant coach and Hardaway was just a kid hanging around the facility. But Hardaway knows the vibe is about to shift.
“I think things are gonna be a little bit more serious now than before,” Hardaway said, cracking a smile. “But I feel like I’m very comfortable and confident to be able to go up there and talk to coach anytime I need some guidance or assistance on anything. I feel like he’s a great person for that. All I care about is someone being upfront and honest. That’s how I feel like I succeed when I’m out there on the floor.”
Hardaway has been in the league for 13 seasons now. He’s seen how Spoelstra runs his offense, especially what he demands from shooters. And he’s watched the Heat’s system reward guys who can fire from deep without hesitation.
“I’ve seen what the shooters on this team are capable of, and how far they’re shooting the ball from,” he said.
The fit makes sense. Miami traded for Giannis Antetokounmpo this offseason to pair with Bam Adebayo, which left a glaring hole on the perimeter. The Heat needed someone who could stand in the corner or run off screens and force defenses to stay honest. Hardaway spent last season with the Denver Nuggets, averaging 13.5 points while shooting 40.7 percent from three. He hit 224 triples, the second-most in a single season in Nuggets history. He finished third in Sixth Man of the Year voting.
He knows what his job is now.
“My job here, I feel like, is just to make their life easy,” Hardaway said, referring to Antetokounmpo and Adebayo. “And that’s the knockdown shots.”
Miami finished as the No. 10 seed in the East last season and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2019. That’s a long fall for a franchise that made the Finals twice in four years. Adding Hardaway doesn’t fix everything, but it addresses the most obvious weakness. He’s a proven shooter who grew up in the building and doesn’t need a map to find his spots.
“It’s always been a dream of mine,” Hardaway said. “The right fit, not only for this franchise but for me personally. Especially when you have two of the guys out there that definitely need spacing for them to go out there and operate and do what they do best.”
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