Knicks Notes: Hardaway Jr., Kerr, Shumpert

The Knicks may be hampering the development of one of their brightest young assets by not giving Tim Hardaway Jr. enough minutes, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv opines. Hardway has thrived when playing over 20 minutes per game, and with the team struggling it would make sense to see what Hardaway can do in a larger role, adds Zagoria.

Here’s more out of New York:

• Steve Kerr came as close to being the head coach of the Knicks as one can without actually signing a contract, Tim Bontemps of The New York Post writes. But Kerr hasn’t wondered what might have been, notes Bontemps, and the Warriors head man said, “I’ve been so busy, and I’m so happy here [in Golden State] that I don’t give it much thought. At the time, I knew my heart was here, in Golden State and in California.” With New York off to a 2-8 start to the year and Golden State sitting at 6-2, it would appear that Kerr made a wise decision.
• The man who took the job that Kerr left on the table, Derek Fisher, is trying to distance himself as much as possible from the issues the team had with former coach Mike Woodson, writes Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. “I think in the past, there have been issues with more finger-pointing out as opposed to finger-pointing in,” Fisher said. “We are now having a locker room of guys that are pointing to themselves about how they can help us get better.”
• Shooting guard Iman Shumpert has seemingly turned a corner offensively this season, averaging a career-high 12.4 points on 50.5 percent shooting through the first 10 games, Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal writes. But this new focus on offense is also taking away from Shumpert’s true value as a defensive stopper thanks to foul troubles that are plaguing him thus far, Herring adds. “His fouls are impacting us more than we would like, because we’re having to finish games with Shumpert on the bench,” Fisher said. “We have to find a way to work together to see if we can break that habit.” Shumpert has fouled out of two games already this season after having done so only three times in his first three seasons combined.