Jaden Hardy Sent Back to G League; Is There Clear Path to Mavs Minutes?
There is a significant enthusiasm and excitement from the Dallas Mavericks' fan base regarding what Jaden Hardy can potentially achieve in his NBA career. He's averaged a highly impressive 29.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.4 assists on strong efficiency during his nine appearances with the Texas Legends.
The peak of the "Hardy party" came when he scored 10 points in the span of about two minutes at the end of the Mavs' 130-111 win over the Phoenix Suns. He was aggressive in getting to the rim against rotation players and shot 4-5 from the floor and 2-2 on free throws.
"He got to play there at the end, and he played well," Mavs coach Jason Kidd said of Hardy's performance against the Suns. "He played the right way. Hopefully, we can continue to put him in those situations that are a positive.
"There are things that we can always teach, like try not to foul when you're off-ball. He's young, he's going to make mistakes, but it's always good to have him on the floor late to get him minutes."
With how many veteran players the Mavs have on their roster, the pathway to giving Hardy minutes would require someone else to play less. At this time, there doesn’t seem to be a willingness from Kidd to reduce the playing time of other players on the roster.
“Mathematically, they probably haven’t thought about that side," Kidd said of fans calling for Hardy to play more. "They just feel [that he] should play. Well, that’s good, and I think we all want him to play. We've been healthy and those minutes are spoken for when you talk about Luka at 40, somebody is only going to be able to play eight. You have Spencer at 30. Those (minutes) are spoken for.
"It's hard (to find minutes) when you're healthy — you have to be patient. ... I know society isn't patient, or Twitter isn't patient because they want it now. ... But this is a job, first and foremost. My job is to put these guys in a position to be successful. Right now we have a good thing going. Hardy has to wait, ask Josh (Green).”
Kidd continued: "Twitter isn't the coach or the player. It's just a platform to express your opinion and that's as far as it goes, but some of us believe it, some of us believe it's the rule or the law. It's basketball. This is a game. Everyone's going to get an opportunity. Frank (Ntilikina) is going to get an opportunity. It's just the nature of the game. Someone is going to be hurt or sick — somebody has to step up."
With Hardy being in his rookie season, and the Mavs wanting to contend right away, there is a sense that learning more about the NBA and getting comfortable is should come well before fully unleashing him. For now, he's done what the team has asked, but again, the minutes aren't there yet based on their plans.
"I think it starts with being a pro," Kidd said of what he is looking for from Hardy in his rookie season. "Being on time, understanding what practice is like. He's doing a great job of checking all of those boxes. ... He's doing a great job with that, but when you look at our roster, playing two minutes is not fun, and it's not fair to him or the next person who is playing well."
When discussing Hardy's potential for playing time, there has been a mixed bag of answers. Kidd expressed before Tuesday's game against the Nuggets that with the lack of a clear pathway to playing time in the Mavs' rotation, Hardy will continue to spend time between the G League and the main club unless, of course, the team decides to be "CYO at its best" so everybody plays.
"This game isn't about playing two minutes and then sitting. You have to be consistent. We have guys who all want to play. For what he's done in the G League is what we're hoping he can do and he's going to continue to spend time there and with us,” said Kidd.
"Right now, for his playing time, unless you guys want me to play Luka less. ... Maybe we should bring Luka up here to ask if he wants to play less? Or Spencer, right? So we can be CYO at its best — everybody gets 3:30, and then we move on from there and try to win the game. ...
"To answer your question, Hardy is doing an incredible job and it just shows we are sitting in a good seat with young talent that's coming and that's actually a good seat to be in in this league."
Where it gets confusing is when taking a step back and including the rest of Kidd's recent comments about Hardy. Before Hardy had that 10-point outburst, the message from Kidd was that even if it requires some sacrifice in terms of losing a game for the sake of development, they "have to find minutes for him and we will" while referencing how Josh Green didn't get to play much as a rookie under Rick Carlisle.
"You have to be in a position to, even if you do lose the game, to give him minutes," Kidd said ahead of Monday’s game. "Because it's a balancing act here of now and also for the future."
"I use Josh as an example, and nothing against Rick (Carlisle) or Josh, but you want him (Hardy) to have minutes in his rookie year. Josh didn't have that many minutes his rookie year so you don't want to always be behind and so, we have to find minutes for him and we will."
When evaluating the trajectory for opportunity for Hardy, there appears to be a few layers that must be taken into consideration. Do the Mavs even want a third ball handler to regularly receive minutes in addition to Doncic or Dinwiddie? If not, do they see Hardy as more of an off-ball, microwave scorer like Tim Hardaway Jr.? If so, when would minutes open up?
The answers to those questions are up to the coach … and perhaps the front office as well with potential roster moves via trades … but in the meantime, Twitter will surely continue to offer advice on the topic.
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