'My Main Goal!' Mavs' Jaden Hardy Reveals Summer League Development Plan
DALLAS — When the Dallas Mavericks' Summer League team plays in Las Vegas, now second-year guard Jaden Hardy will be the central focus of the team's offensive attack. In part of his ongoing development plan, the Mavs will continue to focus on refining his shot selection and half-court reads as an initiator.
"I feel more seasoned," Hardy said. "I feel like I had a good summer league debut last year, but we didn't get to win. We didn't win last year, but that's my main goal this year is to get wins, you know? And I feel like going into what I know now versus from last year going into summer league, I for sure feel like I'm more prepared."
Hardy, who averaged 8.8 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 48 games during his rookie campaign, will be tasked with working through the brunt of the defense's focus as the "head of the snake" as opposed to being able to play off of Luka Doncic or Kyrie Irving. As Hardy continues to sharpen his game, seeing different coverages and making more advanced reads will be necessary. Playing in Las Vegas will afford a structured setting to get a close look at how he's progressing.
"Yeah, so the first month, Jaden [Hardy] was just working on his overall game. You don't want to hold someone back who is so young," Summer Mavs coach Jared Dudley said. "His potential is so high. ... And then the last month, I took over getting him ready for summer league where he could see traps, he could see [the] low man over there, making the right pass.
"Hardy's going to get his 18 to 20 shots. 15 to 16 have to be good looks. Everyone knows he's gonna be the No. 1 player in our offense, but you have to be able to make the short roll pass to the big. You have to make the skip pass to AJ [Lawson] in the corner. And for [Hardy], he can get by the first guy. It's seeing that low man, the guy in the corner, and reading that. ... His confidence and his array of shot-making abilities are elite."
Coming off a rookie season that begin primarily spending time with the Mavs' G League affiliate — the Texas Legends — Hardy managed to showcase more of his potential as the season progressed. All throughout, his scoring talent was clearly on display, producing 28.0 points per possession on the season, trailing only Paolo Banchero among qualified rookies. The present focus is on making the proper play.
"My focus going into Summer League is [on] just trying to play the right way," Hardy said. "Obviously playing my game, but still trying to play the right way, make the right plays as if I were playing with — if Luka [Doncic] or Kyrie [Irving] was out there. ... Just trying to make the smart play."
With injuries to Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, Hardy received a greater opportunity to play after the All-Star break. During that 17 game stretch, he averaged 12.8 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 17 games. His efficiency began to climb as he shot 45.3 percent from the floor and 45.9 percent from 3-point range with a positive assist-to-turnover ratio. Playing in Las Vegas will only help for Hardy to handle initiating as a focal point when he has to step into a large role in the event of injuries.
The ultimate goal for all 30 NBA teams is to leverage Summer League to accelerate the development process of key prospects. For Hardy, the goal is to not see him make the necessary strides in key areas to earn a regular rotation role, but to continue to see him grow into what makes him special as a player at the highest level.
"I'm not a head coach, but he averages, what, 15 minutes? For him to get to 25, 27 minutes, his defense has to [be there] — his awareness off-ball, being low-man, [guarding] pin-downs," Dudley said. "It took me when I played two, three years of that, and I went to [Boston College] for four years. So by asking the guy in the fire, he's having to guard the likes of Kyrie [Irving] and Luka [Doncic], where these guys are elite. So for him, it's off-ball awareness.
"And then offensively, I mean, I think he shot 40 percent on step-back 3s. So it shows you his capability, but can he make the reads? Can he make the lob pass [after reading the] low man? Can he make the corner pass? Will he let the game come to him if he's [shooting] 1-6? Is he going to shoot two more bad shots? And that's why I try to try to ease him, 'Hey, you're getting 20 shots.' All my plays are for Hardy."
With the Mavs having two superstars in Doncic and Irving, the Mavs will rarely not have one of them on the court at a given time when healthy. Hardy understands that being a positive contributor on defense is essential for him to thrive alongside them. He's emphasized on cleaning up his diet and working on his lateral quickness to improve.
"I feel like my defense has improved,' Hardy said. "With me getting in better shape, I'm able to like to move laterally better. I've been working on my lateral quickness with the strength coaches on being able to stay in the stance and being able to move."
Grant Afseth is a Dallas Mavericks reporter for DallasBasketball.com and an NBA reporter for NBA Analysis Network. He previously covered the Indiana Pacers and NBA for CNHI's Kokomo Tribune and various NBA teams for USA TODAY Sports Media Group. Follow him on Twitter (@grantafseth), Facebook (@grantgafseth), and YouTube (@grantafseth).
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