Atlanta Hawks make Tim Hardaway, Jr. qualifying offer, per report

Per Chris Vivlamore of the AJC, Tim Hardaway, Jr. will be a restricted free agent this summer after it was confirmed that the Atlanta Hawks made him the qualifying offer:

Hardaway’s qualifying offer stands at $4.6 million, which he can sign and play for one more year with the Hawks before becoming an unrestricted free agent, but realistically, Hardaway will go out into restricted free agency and find a longer offer, whether from Atlanta or another team.

He’s expected to receive an offer sheet for more than $10 million per year and Atlanta will have to decide whether to match. Hardaway has said all the right things about wanting to remain in Atlanta, but if the Hawks decide to rebuild, he may have to search elsewhere for an offer.

Hardaway averaged 14.5 points per game on the best shooting percentage of his career in the 2016-17 season. He improved immensely on the defensive end in his second season in Atlanta after being traded from the New York Knicks in 2015. Now, it will be interesting to see what kind of offers roll in for his services.