Former Heat star Tim Hardaway has celebrity status in Miami, his jersey hanging in the rafters of AmericanAirlines Arena and a cush job in the team's front office.
What more could he want?
According to the Detroit News, Hardaway got a substantial bailout from the Heat last fall, when the team bought his Miami mansion to help keep the 44-year-old out of tax trouble.
Hardaway, who spent parts of 13 seasons in the NBA and he racked up over $46 million in salary, had fallen on hard times recently. Last summer, the IRS filed a tax lien against his property, claiming he owed $120,748 in taxes from 2005 and 2006.
Listed in the lien was the $2.5 million, 7,542-square-foot, five bedroom, five-and-a-half-bath home. It features a pool and a basketball court customized with a Heat logo.
But on Sept. 3, three months after the lien was filed, the Heat, which Hardaway played for for five seasons, stepped in and bought the place.
Hardaway gets to still live in the house, though the place is still for sale by the Miami Heat Limited Partnership.
But the lien, filed in Miami-Dade on June 1, hasn't been released, according to public records.
"That's all taken care of," Hardaway told the Detroit News. "I'll talk to my people and get on that. It shouldn't be pending."
Hardaway didn't want to comment when asked about why the Heat stepped up and bought his crib.
"I can't say," Hardaway said. "I just don't want to say."
