Jerry Jones, 'Shut Up!' NBA Legend Blames Cowboys Problems on Owner 'Pressure'

Former NBA star Tim Hardaway seems like a bizarre choice to be quizzed on the Dallas Cowboys' ongoing struggles to get back to the Super Bowl, but a deeper look at his career suggests the contrary.

Though he earned induction into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame thanks to a dominant career between UTEP and the NBA, Hardaway fell short of championship glory, thwarted by the Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks during his professional heyday with the Miami Heat.

That perhaps at least somewhat qualified him to speak about the Cowboys' issues on Fox Sports' "The Carton Show," placing the blame for their postseason struggles on the pressure that team owner/general manager Jerry Jones places upon them.

.@HardawaySr thinks the Dallas Cowboys are putting too much pressure on themselves 🤔

“If they be quiet and lay low and go out there and play the way they’re supposed to play, America wouldn’t be laughing at them when they don’t win." pic.twitter.com/pZOtKkLtqh
— Breakfast Ball (@BrkfstBallOnFS1) June 27, 2023

"Jerry Jones has to stop putting pressure on the Dallas Cowboys," Hardaway told eponymous host Craig Carton. "If everyone on that team (was) just quiet and just (did) what they were supposed to do, they'd win games. But they talk about Super Bowl, Super Bowl, Super Bowl every year. They're not talking about 'let's do good during the season and let's see where it takes us.' They're talking about 'We've got a good team to win it all right now.'"

Hardaway's comments came after second-year offensive line standout Tyler Smith said that the current Cowboys had "the team to go out there and win it all.” Hardaway indirectly blamed the apparent pressure Jones places on his stars, which has partly led to bloated expectations that fall flat come postseason time.

"If they'd be quiet and just laid low and just (went) out there and played the way they're supposed to play, all that pressure wouldn't be on them, and another thing: America wouldn't be laughing at them when they don't win."

Despite nearing three decades without even a mere NFC title game appearance, Dallas frequently remains a trendy pick to appear in the NFL postseason's final stages. This season is no exception, as the Cowboys retain several name-brand weapons that posted consecutive dozen-win seasons.

The warnings of Hardaway, whose son Tim Jr. currently plays for the Dallas Mavericks (after the elder Hardaway played one season in Dallas), will likely go unheeded by Jones, whose showmanship remains unmatched throughout the league despite the lack of high-stakes postseason games. Cowboys Nation probably agrees, though, that he time has long passed, however, for Dallas to start backing up its talk.

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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