Less than a week ago, Penny Hardaway was considering a return to the NBA. He seemed extremely confident that he could provide the Miami Heat with veteran leadership in a limited role, and even rattled off some false statistics about the role he played with Miami a few years back. Penny’s recent comments seem to indicate that he’s taken a step back. Judging by what he told the Orlando Sentinel, I think he might have started to see it our way.
That was something that I felt in my heart that I felt my talent would match well with those guys. I wasn’t trying to come back to the league, just that I could help in that role,” Penny Hardaway told the Orlando Sentinel Monday. “If it doesn’t work out, I’m going to stay retired.”
Hardaway, a former all-star guard with the Orlando Magic, said he was taken aback by the amount of attention his announcement made saying “I didn’t think it was going to go that deep.”
Penny’s probably telling the truth about not expecting this news to turn into a big deal, but welcome to the blog era. My personal belief is that Hardaway had a chat with his old pal Pat Riley and realized this isn’t going to happen. I envision something along the lines of a, “Penny, you know I love you, but seriously?” conversation. It just wouldn’t make sense for the Heat. However, I don’t fault him for trying to be a part of something special.
Source:
Penny Hardaway tells Orlando Sentinel not trying to return to NBA [Orlando Sentinel]
