Penny Hardaway Wants to Come Back to the Heat

​Penny Hardaway has a lot to be proud of: four times an NBA All-Star, an Olympic gold medalist, and the world's most memorable basketball puppet. What he doesn't have, however, is a championship ring. Maybe that's why he wants to come out of retirement and play, once more, for the Heat.

Hardaway hasn't played ball since 2007 when he was released by the Heat, but according to the Orlando Sentinel, he wants to return to Miami.

"Mentally I was retired and physically I was retired. I was playing recreational ball," Hardaway said. "But when the decision happened with Chris Bosh and LeBron, I felt like I could really be good in that system."

"I can understand where Michael Jordan was coming from coming out of retirement a couple times; I can understand where Brett Favre is right now," continued Hardaway, who turns 39 this Sunday. "When you still have something in the tank, it's really hard to let it go."

Hardaway says he's already sent text messages to coach Erik Spoelstra and Alonzo Mourning about his desire.