As Tim Hardaway Jr. watched Carmelo Anthony’s recruiting trip unfold during free agency, he was as uneasy as most Knicks fans about the prospect of the star forward choosing to play elsewhere next season.
“Obviously, I was nervous,” he said with a smile Wednesday during his visit to Coleman Country Day Camp on Long Island. “I was like a fan at that time.
“I’m grateful he’s back, and happy he’s going to be a part of this organization for a couple more years, and hopefully we can get this job done.”
Hardaway spent the day Wednesday entertaining kids at the camp, but in a few days he will be back in Las Vegas — where he averaged 22.8 points over five games en route to being named to the All-Summer League second team — in order to spend a few days practicing against the US National Team as part of the US Select Team.
It’s the first time Hardaway has been chosen to be part of Team USA since being selected to represent his country in the FIBA Under-19 World Championships in Lithuania in 2011.
“It felt really good,” Hardaway said of getting the call from his agent, Mark Bartelstein, to let him know he had been chosen for the Select Team. “I’m excited, and grateful for the opportunity.
“It will help me a lot. I’ll definitely steal some ideas from them, learn from them and try to get better each and every time that I’m out there with them.”
Hardaway said he enjoyed his time playing for new coach Derek Fisher in Las Vegas in summer league action this month, when the Knicks went 4-0 in round-robin play before losing to the Hornets in the quarterfinals.
But Hardaway said despite his personal success there, it’s impossible to pick up on all the intricacies of the triangle offense in a week’s worth of games and practices.
“You can’t do anything in a week. It takes a couple of months,” he said. “Just have to watch a lot of film and keep keying in on the details they want me to.”
Hardaway also said he’s happy with what the Knicks have done this offseason — including re-signing Anthony, trading Tyson Chandler for Jose Calderon and signing Jason Smith.
“I think it’s been great,” he said. “We just have to keep building on it.”
The Knicks announced they waived guard Shannon Brown on Wednesday. Doing so ensured Brown’s entire salary for 2014-15 — roughly $1.3 million — was removed from the Knicks’ books before it became guaranteed on Aug. 1.
The Knicks now have 14 players under contract — including Jeremy Tyler’s non-guaranteed deal that becomes partially guaranteed on Sept. 15 — and still are expected to sign second-round pick Cleanthony Early to a contract to fill their 15th roster spot.
The Nets announced the signings of second-round picks Markel Brown and Cory Jefferson — two of the three selections they purchased in last month’s draft — on Wednesday.
Brown, the 44th overall pick, and Jefferson, the 60th and final selection of the draft, both played for the Nets’ summer league team in Orlando earlier this month. After signing both players, the Nets now have 15 players under contract for the 2014-15 season, including the non-guaranteed deal of Jorge Gutierrez, which becomes partially guaranteed if he’s still on the team at the start of training camp.