Report: Knicks outbid Hawks by over $20M with Hardaway offer sheet

The New York Knicks, in typical New York Knicks fashion, appear to have bid against themselves in the Tim Hardaway Jr. sweepstakes.

The Knicks lavished the 25-year-old restricted free agent - whom they drafted 24th overall in 2013 - with a four-year, $71-million offer sheet. The Atlanta Hawks now have the right to match it, but almost certainly will not.

The Hawks were prepared to offer Hardaway a four-year deal in the range of $48 million, sources told ESPN's Zach Lowe. Even at the risk of losing him for nothing, it's tough to envision Atlanta ponying up an additional $23 million.

The Knicks traded Hardaway to the Hawks on draft night in 2015, in exchange for the pick that became point guard Jerian Grant. Last summer, they traded Grant as part of a package for Derrick Rose. Now, with Rose coming off the books, they're attempting to use their newfound cap space to bring back Hardaway on an above-market deal.

In Knicks land, time really is a flat circle.