MESA, Ariz. -- Penny Hardaway, recovering from knee surgery, says he'd be fully ready if the Phoenix Suns opened training camp today. He's not so sure about Michael Jordan.
Hardaway has been working out with Jordan in Chicago, as Jordan decides whether to return to play.
"Michael wants me to stay (in Chicago) to help him," Hardaway told the East Valley Tribune on Wednesday. "And he'll help me."
That Jordan, 38, would attempt a comeback seemed almost likely until he suffered a rib injury. It may be less probable now, Hardaway said.
Still, "when he's working as hard as he is, he's thinking about something," said Hardaway, who turned 30 during the summer.
Jordan, president of basketball operations for the Washington Wizards, has been plagued by knee tendinitis, and he cracked two ribs during a June workout and has fought back spasms recently.
"Michael looks good. The only thing that's not there all the
time is dunking the ball," and that's only because he's working so
hard his legs aren't fresh, Hardaway said.
Hardaway spent the summer playing against NBA and college players in two summer leagues in the Los Angeles area. On three occasions, he said, he played two games in one day.
"I'm 100 percent ready," he said. "I feel like my old self."
He tried to return in January, but had to give up for the rest
of the season because of acute soreness in his surgically repaired
left knee.
"I just wasn't ready," Hardaway said.
The Suns have approved his continuing to work out with Jordan in
Chicago, Hardaway said. He said he expected to stay an additional
two weeks or so.
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