Miami signs Penny Hardaway!!!!!

[BMiller52]

http://www.nba.com/heat/news/heat_sign_phardaway_070809.html

MIAMI, August 9 – The Miami HEAT announced today that they have signed free agent guard/forward Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway. Per club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Penny is a player who has been an All-Star and has enjoyed an illustrious career,” said HEAT President & Head Coach Pat Riley. “We have been impressed at his hard work and dedication this summer to get back in shape and return to the NBA. He is a skilled player who can help us in multiple positions.”
During a 13-year NBA career with the Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns and New York Knicks, Hardaway has averaged 15.4 points, 5.1 assists, 4.5 rebounds, 1.61 steals and 34.0 minutes in 688 games (549 starts). The 6’7”, 220-pound guard/forward has shot 45.8 percent from the floor, 31.5 percent from three-point range and 77.4 percent from the foul line.
Hardaway spent his last two seasons playing for the New York Knicks. During the 2004-05 season, he came off the bench in 37 games, averaging 7.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 24.2 minutes, while shooting 42.3 percent from the floor and 30.0 percent from three-point range. He played in just four games during the 2005-06 season due to injury.
Hardaway was selected by the Golden State Warriors with the third pick in the 1993 NBA Draft. He was acquired by the Orlando Magic in a draft day trade, along with three future draft picks, for Chris Webber. In his rookie year, he was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team and was named NBA Rookie of the Month twice. In his six seasons with the Magic, he also earned All-NBA First Team honors during the 1994-95 and 1995-96 seasons, All-NBA Third Team honors in the 1996-97 season, and was selected as an NBA All-Star four times (1995-98). He began his NBA career playing along side HEAT Center Shaquille O’Neal. Together, they helped lead the Magic to the NBA Finals in 1995.
Hardaway was acquired by the Phoenix Suns on August 5, 1999 in a sign-and-trade deal with the Magic in exchange for forwards Pat Garrity and Danny Manning, and two future first-round draft picks. He was then traded to the New York Knicks on January 5, 2004 in a multi-player trade.
Hardaway was traded back to the Orlando Magic on February 22, 2006, but was waived on February 27, 2006. He was also a member of the gold medal-winning USA Basketball team at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games

It'd be interesting to see if he has anything left but dang the Heat want to be the most washed up team in the league next year.

 

[HndsmCelt]

All the old retired folks in Miami like to see players they remmeber.

 

[allrightythen]

Shaq and Penny reunited again, how special . For some reason I doubt they'll be as effective as they were.

 

[VF21]

And everything old is new again...

 

[cfechter]

Pathetic

 

[VF21]

Pathetic

How do you know? Apparently the Miami Heat have seen something in Hardaway that leads them to believe he can be useful and productive in some capacity.

Pat Riley isn't Eric Musselman. If he's been impressed by Hardaway then I wouldn't be dismissing him quite so quickly.

 

[nebs]

We should bring back C-Webb, J-Will, B-Jax and DC... Hell, lets give Vlade a call.

 

[supamari0]

Shaq and Penny reunited again, how special . For some reason I doubt they'll be as effective as they were.

Boy it would be awesome if my rockets could sweep Shaq and Penny in the finals again.

 

[cfechter]

How do you know? Apparently the Miami Heat have seen something in Hardaway that leads them to believe he can be useful and productive in some capacity.

Pat Riley isn't Eric Musselman. If he's been impressed by Hardaway then I wouldn't be dismissing him quite so quickly.

How do I know? Look at his statistics for the last 5 years of his career, he was hardly a rotation player in the NBA then, let alone a couple of years after his last NBA game.

I'm not impressed by Riley's moves in the least. He managed to pry an upset Shaq from the Lakers, but he was dumb enough to sign Antoine Walker to a terrible contract and boot Van Gundy when he saw a shot at winning the title. Getting Wade was just plain lucky - Riley hasn't shown me much since the mid-80's.

 

[Superman]

How do I know? Look at his statistics for the last 5 years of his career, he was hardly a rotation player in the NBA then, let alone a couple of years after his last NBA game.

I'm not impressed by Riley's moves in the least. He managed to pry an upset Shaq from the Lakers, but he was dumb enough to sign Antoine Walker to a terrible contract and boot Van Gundy when he saw a shot at winning the title. Getting Wade was just plain lucky - Riley hasn't shown me much since the mid-80's.

Can't call getting Wade lucky. I mean, he did make the pick. The Warriors getting Gilbert Arenas was lucky. Taking a shot on a player in the second round that everybody - including you - already passed on, and then having him turn into an All-Star, that's luck. Selecting a player like Wade with the 5th pick in the Draft isn't luck.

I haven't been that impressed with anything Riley's done either, although he did pull off a blockbuster, 13 player, 5 team trade, and then win the championship that same season, so he's not exactly Mitch Kupchak or anything. He pried Shaq, angry or not, away from the Lakers for about $.60 on the dollar, albeit from Kupchak. But calling the Wade pick luck is a stretch, to say the least.

 

[Vlade4GM]

Good for him.

 

[Dave McNulla]

reminds me of an adam ant song: desparate but not serious.

 

[Bricklayer]

If they were depending on him for anything, it would be sad. But the fact this has turned out to be such a big thread/issue is...well, its the middle of the offseason. Its just a minimum deal I'm sure, a washed up old vet to keep their washed up old vet quotient steady after losing Payton and Jones. And a guy who MIGHT be asked to give them 15min a night, but more likely is jsut a spot player. Nothing to see here.

 

[AyeCarly]

Little Penny

I hope Little Penny will comeback too. He and Miles Thirst can race on the backs of two dogs for a bottle of Sprite during the Superbowl.

 

[coolhandluke]

In related news, Charles Barkley has signed with the Suns and Karl Malone has returned to the Jazz.

 

[BigSong]

I hope Little Penny will comeback too. He and Miles Thirst can race on the backs of two dogs for a bottle of Sprite during the Superbowl.

those were some good commercials.

 

[hrdboild]

Well, the good thing about this signing is that it spurred me to go back and check out some of videos of Penny Hardaway from back in the day. He was remarkable. The way injuries de-railed his chances of being in the Hall of Fame is at least as tragic as what happened to Grant Hill. Very few players in the history of the game could pass the ball like Penny Hardaway. It's like he had eyes in the back of his head.