‘Want to Win It All’: Mavs’ Jaden Hardy Has High Hopes for Rookie Season
Jaden Hardy got his first taste of Dallas Mavericks basketball during the NBA’s Las Vegas Summer League. The Mavs didn’t win any games, and Hardy struggled with his efficiency, but the 20-year-old prospect showed many flashes of his potential throughout the last two weeks. It’s just going to take some time and patience to get him where he needs to be.
“I feel like I did pretty good,” said Hardy on his Summer League experience. “I’m just coming in and trying to do what the coaching staff wanted me do to. Play the right way, make the right play and then really just focusing in on my defense and trying to become a better defender.”
Playing the right way is something Hardy took to heart, as he stayed active on both ends of the court even when his shot wasn’t falling. Trying to affect the game in other ways than just scoring and playing through adversity are things coach Jared Dudley wanted to see from the No. 37 pick. However, Dudley admits that Hardy has a lot to work on.
“He’s 19 years old,” said Dudley (Hardy is now 20 after celebrating a birthday in Vegas). “At 19, I was eating pizza at Boston College … This kid’s got a long ways to go, he’s got great coaches, and a staff that wants to work with him. He’s going to be tired of us as much as we want to work with him. Give this kid a couple of years and let’s see where he’s at.”
Dudley continued: “For him, we’re going to have to work with him. It’s not going to be something overnight.”
One thing that should help Hardy’s development during his rookie season is that he’ll be able to learn while being in a low-pressure bench role. Until this point in his basketball career, Hardy has always been considered “the guy” on every team he’s been on. This won’t be the case with the Mavs, as he might play somewhere between 10-15 minutes per game for coach Jason Kidd, assuming the Mavs don’t make any other trades this summer.
Although Hardy knows he’s far from a finished product, he’s confident in his ability to eventually get where he needs to be with hard work.
“What I feel like I improved on the most is becoming a better playmaker, making the right play, making the right reads, and then challenging myself defensively to be a better defender, being in the right places, being in the right spots where I’m supposed to be on defense. And playing the right way,” said Hardy.
He’s also hoping his team can take the next step toward winning a title in his rookie season after being one of the final four teams standing last season.
“Personally, as far as where the season goes, we want to win the championship,” said Hardy.
“This is a team that just came from the Western Conference Finals, so we want to be right back there and compete for a championship. And I want to do whatever I need to do to help the team win.”
You can follow Dalton Trigg on Twitter at @dalton_trigg
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