NBA 2018-19: 5 Current Starters Who Should Play Off the Bench

#2 Tim Hardaway Jr. - New York Knicks

Hardaway's numbers show he is a more efficient bench player than starter

Tim Hardaway Jr. is a living reminder of the Knicks' bad choices under owner James Dolan. They drafted him in the first round of the 2013 NBA Draft, traded him two years later, and signed him again for an astonishing 4-year/$71M deal after two years in Atlanta.

Jerian Grant, who they swapped with Hardaway in 2015, had since been traded himself, for the services of Derrick Rose.

Hardaway's last year in Atlanta was quite good, averaging 14.5 points per game. He started in just 30 of his 79 games that season, and the numbers show he was actually better off the bench than in the starting lineup. His field-goal percentage, three-point percentage and plus/minus as a bench player were all higher than they were as a starter.

Hardaway has been a valuable rotation player for the Hawks, but proved that as a starter he is very inefficient. He is a volume shooter who lacks defensive value, profitable only off the bench.