Atlanta Hawks: Must commit to future with Tim Hardaway Jr.

Early into the offseason, the Atlanta Hawks have a few key dilemmas to hash out, with the potential resigning of Tim Hardaway Jr. among them.

Recently named GM Travis Schlenk has his work cut out for him. In his first offseason, he already faces a crossroads in the direction of the Hawks franchise. Along with Paul Millsap opting out of his deal, guard Tim Hardaway Jr. is a restricted free agent. Certainly, Millsap will be the assumed priority of many Hawks fans, but I believe bringing back Hardaway is a must. It looks as though Tim will command significant offseason money, but this past season showed me he is quite deserving.

After averaging 14.5 points a game (his highest in four seasons), Tim also showed an improvement on the defensive end. In addition, his steal, assist, and rebound totals were career highs along with scoring and shooting efficiency. His improvement in a Hawks uniform was quite honestly incredible over the course of the year. The 25 year old is showing flashes of lethal scoring ability and his ceiling is very high.

Looking into the situation.

Tim Hardaway Jr. is a restricted free agent this offseason. Basically, any offer sheet he gets the Hawks will have a chance to match. This is an advantage of some sorts but all in all the dilemma is still money. Paul Millsap will command a max contract and the money already committed to Dwight Howard doesn’t help. Almost all Hawks fans will say Millsap over Hardaway if it comes down to it, but I myself am not one of them. I believe the future of the team is with Dennis, Tim, and Taurean Prince. With the 19th pick in a deep draft, the Hawks can potentially get an impact player as well. Building around a young core is a must due to the strong competition at this point with Cleveland, Boston, and the deep western conference.

Atlanta must commit to Tim Hardaway Jr. The future of the franchise is in a much better position with Tim around long term.