Penny Hardaway thinks he has something left in the tank, and thinks that whatever it is in his tank can help the loaded Miami Heat win a championship.Hardaway has reached out to the Heat, asking for an audition to join up with LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade, according to Shannon J. Owens of the Orlando Sentinel. Hardaway last played in 2007-08 with the Heat, starting eight games for the depleted, doomed squad before being cut at midseason. Hardaway wasn't particularly successful, scoring infrequently and inefficiently, and turning the ball over a bunch.
Hardaway turns 39 on Sunday. It's hard to imagine he'll be any more helpful now than he was three years ago.
Miami isn't anywhere near desperate enough for end-of-the-bench talent to turn to retired players like Hardaway. While the Heat must resort to minimum-salary contracts to fill out the roster, plenty of useful players, including recently signed Zydrunas Ilgauskas, are available and likely willing to help out. Under Pat Riley, the Heat have also used the NBA Development League regularly, picking up cheap talent to sop up minutes here and there. Miami would be expected to fill roles via the D-League rather than pick up name players far, far past their prime.




