Upon his arrival in Phoenix, Penny Hardaway promised to be better.
"Me and coach Ainge are going to be super. You won't hear a peep out of me. Honestly, you won't," Hardaway said Thursday night following his trade from the Orlando Magic.On another busy day of player movement in the NBA, no move was bigger than the one sending Hardaway to the Suns for Danny Manning, Pat Garrity and two future first-round draft picks.
Rick Fox re-signed with the Lakers for big money, and Lorenzen Wright reportedly agreed to join L.A., too, but at a price below his market value.
Former Jazzman Dell Curry signed with Toronto, signing a $6 million deal over three years, Calbert Cheaney turned down a trade to Miami and signed with Boston instead, and Terry Porter signed with the NBA champion San Antonio Spurs.
Hardaway got a seven-year, $86 million contract, the largest allowed under the league's collective bargaining agreement and will team with Jason Kidd in a star-studded backcourt.
It was bitter day for the Magic, which parted with the last member of the 1995 team that went to the NBA Finals. It got relatively little in return.
Suns coach Danny Ainge called Hardaway "the most skilled all-around player in the game."
"All of a sudden, I really believe this puts us as one of the elite teams in the NBA."
It was a major coup for the Suns, who had no room under the salary cap to go after free agents, let alone one the stature of Hardaway.
Suns president Jerry Colangelo said the acquisition "ranks right up there with any acquisition we've ever made."
The Magic tried to work out a deal with the Lakers, Raptors and a few other teams, but all dropped out of the bidding by the middle of the week.
"I have nothing against Orlando. I came to Phoenix and fell in love with Phoenix," Hardaway said. "I thank the Magic for going through with the deal because they didn't have to. They saw the same thing I saw; it's time for me to just move on and start a new career. I wanted to do it here in Phoenix."
Hardaway's image as one of the NBA's rising superstars took a beating in recent years. He was accused of orchestrating the departure of coach Brian Hill, then sat out most of the 1997-98 season but still played in the All-Star game.
He also had an uneven relationship with Magic coach Chuck Daly, who resigned after the 1999 season.
Hardaway said he had said and done things in Orlando in recent years "that were out of character for me" and looked forward to a fresh start.
Elsewhere around the league:
-- Seattle apparently dropped out of the bidding for free agent Mitch Richmond and started scrambling to make other moves, even trying to acquire the much maligned Donyell Marshall from Golden State for Hersey Hawkins. That offer was turned down, and the Sonics also got no commitment from free agent Gary Trent after making another offer.
-- Miami emerged as the leading candidate to acquire Richmond but needed to find a third team to broker a sign-and-trade deal with the Wizards. The Heat were believed to be willing to part with P.J. Brown in a deal for Richmond.
-- Toronto increased its offer to Charles Oakley, offering him about $18 million for three years, while Oakley lowered his asking price to $24 million for three years. The Raptors and Lakers were discussing a sign-and-trade deal that would send the veteran power forward to Los Angeles.
-- Fox signed a six-year deal with the Lakers. It is believed to be worth $25 million.
-- Porter left the Heat and signed with the Spurs saying he didn't want to commit to Miami because of all the uncertainty over what the roster will look like next season.
-- Shandon Anderson and the Jazz remained apart in their contract negotiations, although Utah felt its chances of keeping the shooting guard had improved.
-- ESPN reported that Wright has decided to accept a one-year, $2 million offer from the Lakers. He had been the subject of various sign-and-trade proposals that would have earned him millions of dollars more.