There isn’t any lasting impact from the NBA’s annual summer league, and it has no bearing on how the young players who perform in it will play when the season begins this fall.
But whether it’s important or not, it is the first opportunity for rookies to initiate themselves into the NBA, and Knicks rookie Tim Hardaway Jr. wishes he had gotten a chance to have more of an extended run in Las Vegas last month.
“I really wanted to play,” Hardaway told The Post at the NBA’s Rookie Transition Program Wednesday in Florham Park. “I really wanted to go out there and showcase my abilities at the next level. I only had one game, a game and a quarter, to do it, and I know if I had more opportunities to play that I would blossom and show everybody I am a better player than I was in that first game.”
Hardaway injured his left wrist in his second game in Las Vegas and was subsequently shut down for the remainder of the Knicks’ time there. Though he still was wearing a brace on his wrist, he said he now has no restrictions in working out, and is looking forward to beginning his rookie season with his new teammates in several weeks.
“I’m just ready to go to work,” Hardaway said. “I’m just very, very amped up about it. It’s a great experience, it’s what I’ve dreamed about, and I’m just ready to go out and have fun.”