Will Langston Galloway Make Tim Hardaway Expendable for New York Knicks?
Langston Galloway stole Tim Hardaway Jr.'s destiny right out from under him. He may also be the very thing solidifying Hardaway's spot on the roster. Galloway could be the best thing to happen to Hardaway this season, and even Hardaway realizes it.
Tuesday, the New York Knicks signed Galloway for the rest of this season and next, making the 6'2" undrafted guard the NBA D-League Westchester Knicks’ first ever "call-up." The 2015-16 deal is a partially guaranteed contract for $850,000, the minimum for a second-year player, per ESPN New York's Ian Begley.
As Begley put it, "After losing 16 straight games, New York has won three of four entering Wednesday's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, with Galloway emerging as a rare bright spot for the Knicks."
No question, Galloway is getting the playing time that was destined for Hardaway. He should have been the biggest winner in the trade that sent J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The starting shooting guard job should have been his...but he wasn't ready for it.
When Galloway made the move from Westchester to Manhattan earlier this month, Hardaway was only shooting 39.3 percent from the field and 33.7 percent from behind the arc—not good enough for a 2-guard. He was a defensive liability, getting yanked off the court by head coach Derek Fisher time and time again.
On Jan. 13 in a piece headlined "Hardaway withering in larger role," Chris Towers of CBSSports.com wrote carrying the team's offense "is too much for [him] to handle." A day later, Marc Berman of the New York Post wrote "Hardaway clearly is regressing under the new coaching staff after excelling under Mike Woodson’s group as a First Team All-Rookie sensation."
Galloway, meanwhile, flourished from the moment he stepped foot on the hardwood at the Garden.
The kid has hops. He's launched his 6'2" frame up to throw down nasty putback dunks on a few occasions already.
He has great court vision, especially for a guy who's only been playing at NBA speed for a few weeks. He protects the ball well, stealing it more often than he turns it over. He has a knack for being wherever the ball is going, nabbing 4.1 rebounds per game. He's also averaging 12.8 points, 3.1 assists and 1.3 steals.
He drives, dishes and drills clutch shots. Galloway earned his spot on the roster and in the starting lineup.
He also seems to be making Hardaway play better.
After struggling for most of the season, the NBA sophomore is picking it up on both ends of the court. Not only is he shooting better, but he's driving to the bucket and drawing fouls; he scored eight of his 13 points during Friday night's win over the Orlando Magic at the free-throw line.
Hardaway is also playing far better defense. No longer the liability being dragged off the hardwood by his ear, the 6'6" guard actually has logged a block two games in a row.
In Saturday night's loss to the Charlotte Hornets, Hardaway had possibly his best game of the season—25 points, five assists, six rebounds, one block, 52.9 percent from the field and 62.5 percent from downtown. Hardaway and Galloway were both in the starting lineup that game: Galloway at the 1, Hardaway at the 2.
Hardaway languished in the first half of Wednesday's win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, but he lit up in the fourth quarter. He scored 11 points in that period alone, including three triples and two free throws.
He's been a new player the past two weeks. After Wednesday night's game, Hardaway credited Galloway for some of that transformation. Without being prompted to do so, he told Tina Cervasio on the MSG Network's broadcast:
"Langston's out there playing as well as anybody thought of. So he's out there learning and when he comes off and I come in for him I'm just trying to match the same intensity and effort ... It's not a competition between us guys. We're just out there trying to compete [with the other team] and just trying to help one another when we're out there on the floor.
"
Hardaway's fortitude inspired Fisher to, unbidden, lay some praise upon him. Fish told reporters, via NYKnicks.com:
"Before I finish, too, I want to make sure I give Tim Hardaway Jr. some love tonight. Not because he made some shots in the second half, but the maturity level that he showed. The second half he had tonight helped us win this game. He's growing up right in front of us. I'm happy for him.
"
Sure, if Phil Jackson tries to make a deal with a team looking for a shooting guard, he might be more keen to deal Hardaway than Galloway. If he decides he needs a star or vet at the 2 spot, he could pick one up and phase Hardaway out in the offseason.
Yet, there are no rumors about Action Jackson trying to move Hardaway or pick up a new shooting guard.
Rather, all the rumor mill activity seems to be around point guards and big men. Dealing Jose Calderon, Pablo Prigioni or Andrea Bargnani. "Inquiring about" power forward JaMychal Green, per Berman. Watching Duke center (and presumed No. 1 draft pick to-be) Jahlil Okafor play at the Garden. Speculation about soon-to-be free agents like point guard Goran Dragic, center Marc Gasol and center-forward Greg Monroe.
No scuttlebutt about shooting guards, though. Plus, the Knicks already picked up Hardaway's option back in October. So, while Jackson certainly might keep making moves, there's a good chance he'll keep both Galloway and Hardaway as part of his young core.
That fits with the idea of a true rebuild, which Jackson spoke about after the Smith-Shumpert trade. He told reporters, per Brian Mahoney of AP Sports:
"[The Knicks] kept searching for the big star to change our fortunes which has never happened in the last 45 years or so, so reality is that this is probably the best way to go about the business and to begin and to restart and do it the right way and put it together in a way that really makes sense.
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No, Galloway has not made Hardaway expendable. He's just moved Hardaway to the second unit, which is where he expected to be entering the season and where he appears to perform better.
"[Hardaway's] a lot more comfortable coming off the bench," said MSG Network's Wally Szczerbiak on Knicks Extra after Wednesday's win. "He gets to be the focal point of the offense."
If anything, Galloway has made life better for Hardaway. After floundering all season, Hardaway now starting to find a rhythm. As he said himself, he now has someone setting a clear standard of intensity and effort that he just needs to match.
It also can't hurt that Hardaway is no longer hanging out with J.R. Smith, the darling of the New York nightlife. Now, if we can just get New York club owners to send all young Knicks guards home at a reasonable hour, we should be OK.
All stats are from NBA.com/stats. Follow Sara Peters on Twitter @3FromThe7.
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