Hardaway mega offer is a slap in face to Phil, but high risk for Mills

Nothing says Steve Mills and Phil Jackson weren’t exactly seeing eye-to-eye quite like $71 million over four years to restricted free agent Tim Hardaway Jr. In reality, the Knicks stuck it to Phil Jackson twice over nine days while also suffering a self-inflicted wound to the salary cap. First, the Knicks fired Jackson, then Mills signed the player the former Knicks president famously traded away on draft night a couple of years ago.

And Mills didn’t get Hardaway Jr. for pennies on the dollar, either.

The Atlanta Hawks have until this weekend to match the offer sheet, but it’s unlikely since that number is excessive for a back-up shooting guard who has averaged 11 points over four NBA seasons.

This is the golden age for average NBA players.

The contract also includes a 15% trade kicker and a player option for the fourth season. It’s a player-friendly deal for the 25-year-old shooting guard, who two years ago spent time in the D-League to de-program “the Knicks way” out of his system.

It’s a bold, high-risk move for Mills, who is trying to enhance his candidacy to become the full-time Knicks president. Garden Chairman James Dolan last week said Mills will help to find Jackson’s successor when in fact Mills, the Daily News reported last week, is hoping to find his own replacement while elevating himself to president, a position Mills once held in his first go round at Madison Square Garden.

It’s the familiar game at the Garden. Kill or be killed and Mills, in his second stint with the club, knows how to play it as well as anyone.

The Knicks have already made initial contact with former Cavs general manager David Griffin and the two sides are expected to meet next week in Las Vegas. Dolan is scheduled to be in town for the Board of Governors.

Mills wants to be in charge, have a general manager run the day-to-day operations and stay out of Dolan’s crosshairs. But until that time, Hardaway Jr.’s contract belongs to Mills’ dossier.

The signing partly fits the narrative the Knicks are sending out: we’re going young. Hardaway did blossom last season in Atlanta, averaging 14.5 points per game in 28 minutes in 30 starts.

But the move doesn’t fit into the philosophy of avoiding long-term deals, a common occurrence among Knicks executives that ultimately cripples the team. Exhibit A: Joakim Noah.

Mills is staking his reputation on Hardaway continuing to trend upwards. If you didn’t know by now, Mills is extremely conservative by nature and signing a player with whom he has a history isn’t surprising in the least.

Mills must be confident that Hardaway Jr. is ready to become a full-time starter. Hardaway has started just 62 games in four seasons, not including the six playoff games he started last April for the Hawks.

In fact, Hardaway appeared in 15 playoff games with the Hawks, or exactly 15 more than Jackson had as Knicks president.

Atlanta executives were in Las Vegas on Friday debating whether to match the offer, but Hardaway Jr. would seem to be out of the price range for a team that is, coincidentally enough, also rebuilding. The Hawks are in the process of a complete overhaul, having traded Dwight Howard and letting Paul Millsap walk in free agency.

The Knicks are in the process of reshaping their roster and when a new regime comes in, or in Mills’ case a guy trying to distance himself from Jackson, the idea is to shake things up. If Hardaway becomes a Knick, that would place Courtney Lee, signed last summer by Jackson to a fouryear, $52 million contract, on the endangered list.

It also would mean the end to Derrick Rose’s bizarre one year stint in New York, since the Knicks would have to renounce the salary cap hold on the veteran point guard in order to sign Hardaway Jr. Rose arrived last June in a deal with the Bulls for Robin Lopez and former Knicks first round pick Jerian Grant, who one year earlier was acquired by the Knicks with a pick they received from the Hawks in the Hardaway Jr. deal.

Hardaway Jr. wasn’t Phil’s type of player, meaning he didn’t fit into the triangle. He was also friendly with Carmelo Anthony, a relationship that was a bit complicated. The two nearly came to blows one night in the locker room after a rough loss. Yet, Hardaway Jr. was with Anthony on the Draft Night two years ago when Jackson selected Kristaps Porzingis and then traded Hardaway Jr. for Grant. ources described Anthony as upset that night. He didn’t know anything about Porzingis and he thought Jackson was making a big mistake by trading Hardaway Jr. Apparently, Mills agrees — to the tune of $71 million over four years. It’s a big number. But Mills also has big aspirations.

And now Hardaway’s contract goes on his permanent record.

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