NBA Trade Tea Leaves: Dallas Mavs’ Jaden Hardy Benched; Atlanta Hawks’ Clint Capela Deal?

Jaden Hardy, who was supposed to take a big leap after having a promising rookie season, hasn’t played in the Dallas Mavericks’ first two games, and we try to make sense of it at DallasBasketball.com.

The Dallas Mavericks had many things to be excited about heading into this season, including several key roster additions and Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving getting a chance to make things work from the start of the season instead of in just 16 games at the end of a season after a trade.

The second-year development of Jaden Hardy was also supposed to be a bright spot for this Mavs’ season as well, as Hardy showed flashes of potentially being a great scorer with last year’s team. However, the 21-year-old guard has received two consecutive DNP-CDs from head coach Jason Kidd in the Mavs’ 2-0 start, which makes us wonder if Dallas has changed its stance on Hardy being a ‘no-go’ in a potential trade for Atlanta Hawks big man Clint Capela.

"The Mavericks asked for Clint Capela," ESPN’s Tim MacMahon said on an episode of The Hoop Collective over the summer. "My understanding is the Hawks asked for the Mavericks to throw in Josh Green or Jaden Hardy, which that's a no-go. Those are young players that the Mavericks really like."

Dereck Lively II and Jaden Hardy at a Dallas Mavericks Summer League practice / Mavs.com

Given that Josh Green just signed a three-year, $41 million contract extension and is still very much in Kidd’s rotation, we’re going to assume the Mavs would still be unwilling to part with him in a potential Capela deal. However, given Dallas’ logjam at the shooting guard position with veterans like Tim Hardaway Jr. and Seth Curry warranting minutes, it might make sense for the Mavs to part with Hardy in order to bolster their center depth.

Dallas has been pleased with rookie big man Dereck Lively II’s development so far, and he earned his first career start in the Mavs’ win over the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night. That said, having Lively plus Capela would only mean good things for Dallas going forward, no matter who starts or who comes off the bench.

In theory, a trade of Hardy, Richaun Holmes and a future second-round pick could work. The Hawks just signed Onyeka Okongwu to a four year, $62 million deal. That’s a lot of money for a backup center, and you have to think Atlanta is planning on making him the starter in the near future. The Mavs can help them make that happen.