Mavs' Jaden Hardy Has Huge Offseason Ahead: 'He's Executed The Plan'
Before the Dallas Mavericks decided to take a chance on Christian Wood last summer via trade with the Houston Rockets, they had already pegged Jaden Hardy as a top-20 player in the 2022 NBA Draft. Dallas had to part with its No. 26 pick in order to acquire Wood, but GM Nico Harrison was still able to snag Hardy with the No. 37 pick after making a trade with the Sacramento Kings.
Although the Mavs had a disastrous 2022-23 season, Hardy was one of the few bright spots, as he averaged 8.8 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists while shooting 43.8 percent from the field and 40.4 percent from deep in 48 games. In the final 16 games of the season, Hardy upped that production to 13.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists while shooting 45.3 percent from the field and 45.8 percent on 3s – including seven games where he scored at least 20 points.
“Oh my goodness. Amazing. Literally, month-to-month you saw the guy progress," Harrison said of Hardy's rookie season. “At the beginning ... he learned how to be a pro. The next month he was able to see passes that he didn’t see early on. The way he can score pretty much at all three levels, the way he just attacks, he’s a special kid.”
If the NBA did a 2022 re-draft, it's not a stretch to say that Hardy would likely be a top-10 pick. That's how good the 20-year-old guard was when given significant opportunities by head coach Jason Kidd. Hardy had his occasional tough learning moments, as every rookie does, but overall, he showed the kind of potential Dallas hasn't seen from a draft pick since 2018 when it selected both Luka Doncic and Jalen Brunson.
Hardy began his rookie season by spending a lot of time in Frisco with the Texas Legends, where he proceeded to lead the G League in scoring on 50/40/90 efficiency, but his confidence started building well before that in the summer when he spent endless hours in the gym working on his game. Hardy is known for being a gym rat, and the progress he displayed at the end of this season gives the Mavs reasons to be excited for next year.
“We’ve talked about that all season — about the plan. He’s executed the plan. He’s worked extremely hard," coach Jason Kidd said. "You can see he’s one that can get to the basket, he’s shot the three. So now it’s just a matter of getting minutes under his belt to be able to play both ends.”
Hardy showed so much potential in his rookie season that teams will surely come knocking on Dallas’ door this summer about potential trades. Everyone knows the Mavs have a lot of roster holes to fill and not a lot of time to fill them if they want to become a contender before Doncic’s free agency in 2026. With that in mind, it’s easy to envision opposing teams looking to rebuild being interested in adding Hardy.
However, unless it’s just an offer that can’t be refused, the Mavs should try to hold onto Hardy for the foreseeable future. He might not ever develop into a star player … but then again, he just might. He certainly has that potential, and the Mavs need more young, high-end talent for Doncic to grow with.
"[I’m] just continuing to gain confidence and working on my game [during] the hours that aren't seen,” Hardy told DallasBasketball.com’s Grant Afseth in a recent exclusive interview, while also dishing on Kyrie Irving‘s late-season mentorship.
“[I’m] just reading my defenders, how he's playing me. I know my 3-point shot is really my best weapon, so just being able to play off of that, playing off of closeouts, and I really don't think anybody can stay in front of me.”
With Hardy being on a team-friendly rookie contract, that alone is worth waiting another year to see how much higher he can take his game before the Mavs even consider entertaining trade offers for him … again, though, unless it’s an offer that makes too much sense not to do it.
If last summer through the end of the 2022-23 season is any indicator, though, the Mavs can expect their hard-working, 20-year-old natural scorer to be a real game changer next season while filling one of those big roster holes in-house. Wouldn’t that be a breath of fresh air?
Follow Dalton Trigg on Twitter @dalton_trigg.
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