Hardaway Jr. on Heat’s radar as free agency nears. Miami looking to add shooters
Impending free agent guard Tim Hardaway Jr., whose father Tim Sr. partnered with Alonzo Mourning as linchpins on the Heat’s best teams of the 20th century, has emerged as an expected Heat target in the coming days.
The Heat will have interest in Hardaway when free agency begins at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, according to a source. He’s among a select group of skilled shooters that Miami is expected to call.
Other potential targets have not been confirmed, but Miami has been strongly linked to veteran NBA forward Khris Middleton, who played with soon-to-be-new-Heat-forward Giannis Antetekounmpo in Milwaukee.
Hardaway, 34, last season played in 80 games for Denver and averaged 13.5 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists while shooting a career-best 40.7% on three-pointers. He has averaged between 11 and 19.1 points each of the past nine seasons.
Hardaway played for the minimum salary last season, but that seems unlikely next season, after he finished third in the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year voting behind the Spurs’ Keldon Johnson and former Heat (and future Milwaukee Bucks) forward Jaime Jaquez Jr.
The 6-5 Hardaway, who can play small forward and shooting guard, has averaged 13.7 points and shot 36.5 percent on three-pointers in 13 NBA seasons, covering 893 games and 428 starts.
He started six games for Denver last season and 77 for Detroit the previous season, when he averaged 11 points and shot 36.8 percent on three-pointers.
He began his career playing for the Knicks (as a 24th overall draft pick in 2013) and has played 5 1/2 seasons in Dallas, 3 ½ in New York, two in Atlanta and one each in Detroit and Denver.
Hardaway played scholastically at Miami Palmetto High and went on to star at the University of Michigan.
If Heat forward Andrew Wiggins opts into a $30 million contract by Monday’s deadline, the Heat could offer Hardaway or another free agent just over $11 million of its $15.1 million mid level exception.
Miami, which is operating under a $209 million hard cap, would be able to use the full exception if Wiggins opts out or if Wiggins opts in but the Heat is able to offload another $4 million in salary.
Opting out of a contract, and signing a long-term contract with Miami at a lower first-year salary, remains an option for Wiggins.
The Heat is expected to try to add at least two skilled three-point shooters in free agency. Other options, listed here, include Landry Shamet, Anfernee Simons and Quentin Grimes, among others.
Simons has been a source of speculation in the wake of Bobby Marks saying on ESPN he would be perfect fit at the minimum for Heat.
According to a source, he will enter free agency looking for more than that after averaging 14.9 points and shooting 38.1 on threes, There are always players who fall through cracks and take minimums -- such as Hardaway with Denver last year and Kelly Oubre with the 76ers two years ago. The Heat will be poised to pounce if the right player falls through the cracks.
Meanwhile, the Heat has been considering several point guard options. Mike Conley Jr. has been one of the names discussed internally, but there are some inside the organization who would prefer a younger player at the position.
Speculation continues to swirl about whether LeBron James could have interest in a return to the Heat. Nothing should be ruled out, but this is not something that has been actively pursued by James to this point, according to a source. Miami very likely would explore if James decides to pursue it.
This story was originally published June 28, 2026 at 4:33 PM.
