http://www.sportsline.com/spin/story/9920454/1 <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Eager to prove worth, Penny's waiting for his (last) chance Jan. 10, 2007 By Michael Bradley SPiN Columnist Tell Michael your opinion! From his perch in Houston, where he is working out daily and dying to show everybody that he isn't washed up, cashed out and broken down, Penny Hardaway can't believe what he sees. Shabby play. Poor fundamentals. Could it be that at 35 he has turned into a crotchety old-school crank? Not likely. Hardaway loves basketball and the NBA. Now that he's healthy after six years of hobbling on a damaged knee, Hardaway wants one last chance to play the game. He can't get it, and it kills him. "I look at the league, and I say, 'I'm sitting out because of this?'" Hardaway says, referring to the level of NBA backcourt play that's beamed onto his plasma screen every night. Hardaway is waiting for a team to decide it could use a veteran backup who can play three perimeter positions and who is healthy -- finally -- after microfracture surgery and the removal of a large bone spur. He'll play for the veteran minimum. He'll come off the bench. He'll do anything, if only he can play. "I have two or three more years in me at a level where I can help," he says. "I don't want to be a star, playing 42 minutes a game. I want to be a role player. A happy role player." Hardaway hasn't been happy for a long time -- six years, to be exact. That's how long he has struggled with injuries. Orlando finally cut him loose last February, just a couple days after trading for him in what was a blatant salary-cap dump. Didn't matter much anyway, because Hardaway wasn't going to help the Magic. He was still in too much pain and unable to handle any full-time work. He couldn't even jump. Hardaway went back to Houston and had yet another MRI of his knee. This time, doctors saw something different. After years of hearing that the pain was due solely to the microfracture surgery he had in 2000, he finally learned the real reason he couldn't run or jump. "There was a huge bone spur on my knee," he says. "I said, 'Go in and take it out.' If I didn't come back, oh well." Houston-based orthopedic surgeon Walter Lowe, chief physician for the NFL's Houston Texans, performed the procedure, which brought almost instant relief to Hardaway. After years of running in pain and looking more suited to an over-40 men's league than the big time, Hardaway was free. No more agony every time he loaded up to jump. No more gimpy gait. </div> **this is the first of a two page article. So click the link above, at the top, to see the whole article. For some reason I am kind of eager to see the Warriors give this guy a chance. Right now they could use another ball handler and playmaker on the court. What do you guys think? Will Penny Hardaway (I miss-spelt his name in the title, for some reason I have never noticed that second "a" before, or at least it never tirggered in my mind before) get a shot in the NBA this season? What about with the Warriors? Maybe we should sign, well not me since I don't have any money, Penny and Webber...well maybe without the Webber part. But maybe I would rather have Webber than Murphy at this point. Penny can play McLeod's old role. We could cut McLeod or Zarko (since he is done for the season) and maybe give Hardway a shot. At least until Jason comes back I can see Hardway getting some minutes since he can play three positions. If he says he won't turn the ball over I am sure Nelson wouldn't mind him too much either. This team seems to lack guards right now which seems kind of unimagineable. So yeah, right now I am rooting for Penny Hardaway.
He'd be an instant upgrade over Dunleavy, and a thousand times cheaper! I wouldn't mind having him around.
He could probably help out Monta with his developement and maybe even teach Baron a few things since he has been to the finals and have had a successful career
I would love to see Penny get a run for the veteran minimum. I loved his lil penny commercials back in the day!
