Acquired last June from the Knicks, Hardaway struggled to distinguish himself with the Hawks in the early stages of the 2015-16 season. A poor preseason kept Hardaway out of coach Mike Budenholzer's rotation to start the campaign and resulted in the young guard making a few stops in the D-League, but he finally developed into a trusted bench option when the calendar turned to 2016. From Jan. 5 until the end of the regular season, Hardaway averaged 6.7 points, 1.7 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 1.0 three-pointer in 17.4 minutes per game while shooting a palatable 44 percent from the floor. A hamstring injury would limit Hardaway's involvement in the postseason, but the 24-year-old nonetheless established himself as one of the team's top reserve scorers heading into the upcoming season. Hardaway will likely serve as the Hawks' first or second guard off the bench in 2016-17, providing Budenholzer with another offensive-minded option if starting shooting guard Kyle Korver's shot isn't falling early in games.

In his second season, Hardaway had averages of 11.5 points on 10.2 field goal attempts, 1.7 three-pointers, 2.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.3 steals, and 0.2 blocks in 24 minutes per game through 70 regular season games with the Knicks. Hardaway shot 39 percent from the floor, 34 percent from downtown, and 80 percent from the foul line. Traded on draft-day this summer in exchange for the rights to select Jerian Grant, Hardaway's role with the Hawks in 2015-16 may very well be as a reserve. However, the fact that Hardaway is a solid perimeter shooter who raised his assist average from 0.8 as a rookie to 1.8 as a sophomore bodes well for his fit on a squad that's known for sharing the ball and spacing the floor.

The 24th pick of the 2013 NBA Draft, Hardaway enjoyed a promising debut campaign last season that earned him a First-Team All-Rookie selection. In 81 games played, Hardaway averaged 10.2 points in 23 minutes per game, while converting 36 percent of his three-point attempts en route to 130 triples on the season. As the year unfolded, Hardaway's penchant for coming off the bench and providing an offensive spark became more evident. While starting shooting guard Iman Shumpert frustrated offensively, Hardaway was given the green light to fire from outside and ended the season as the most accurate three-point shooter among rookies that made at least 55 three-pointers. His progress carried over to summer league play in Las Vegas, where Hardaway finished second in scoring with 22.8 points per game in five appearances during July. Such development has Hardaway slated for a larger role under new Knicks' coach Derek Fisher this season. Fisher's Triangle offense values outside shooting in creating floor spacing, which coincides perfectly with Hardaway's game. In fact, leading up to the season, Hardaway should compete for a place in the Knicks' starting lineup. Although he's gifted athletically, he will need to show improvement on defense and could improve his all-around game to become less one-dimensional. Nonetheless, Hardaway represents an intriguing, high-upside scorer going into his second season.

The Knicks selected Hardaway in the first round of the draft to provide them with yet another quality offensive option off their bench. He should provide a nice scoring punch, but his fantasy value will be limited because he will likely see limited minutes. However, with Smith out of action to start the season, Hardaway could see more minutes than expected to start, which provides him with the opportunity to carve out a solid role off the bench.