Inside The Wizards

Wizards Getting Youthful Scoring Punch in Jaden Hardy

The Washington Wizards look to make the most of some of their recently-acquired trade assets.
Henry Brown|
Jan 14, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Jaden Hardy (1) controls the loose ball in front of Denver Nuggets forward Zeke Nnaji (22) during the second half at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Jan 14, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Jaden Hardy (1) controls the loose ball in front of Denver Nuggets forward Zeke Nnaji (22) during the second half at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

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Washington Wizards

As shocking and franchise-altering as the Anthony Davis-headlined trade first was for the Washington Wizards, very little of the blockbuster exchange will factor into whatever remains of the team's 2025-26 season.

Davis, for one, is unlikely to suit up anytime soon, with Wizards General Manager Will Dawkins recently revealing that the 10x All-Star will remain in Dallas to continue his rehabilitation process.

That means that he won't be making his Wizards debut for quite some time, and the same can be said for D'Angelo Russell and Dante Exum, two other Mavericks who were lumped into the deal. While Exum was waived over the weekend, Russell won't report to D.C. as both sides work towards figuring out whatever's next for the former star guard.

Those announcements fail to account for Jaden Hardy, the last player that Dallas sent over to Washington. As it turns out, he, unlike every other aforementioned former Maverick, has a chance of actually factoring into the Wizards' short-term plans.

Hardy's Potential for Impact

Hardy is, after all, only 23 years old, placing the former second-round pick squarely within Washington's rebuilding timeline should he catch the front office's attention for the right reasons.

He's had the fortune of contributing to winning basketball for the majority of three and a half professional seasons in the league, having been drafted to the competitive, Luka Doncic-led Mavericks. When they went to the 2024 NBA Finals, there was Hardy, making the most of his sophomore season as a creative scorer on the fringes of Dallas' rotation.

He needs very little space or time to get a bucket, as he demonstrated during occasional burn over the course of that playoff run. His up-and-down career has been more of that same heat-check scoring, even if the franchise's transition from contending to rebuilding has overshadowed any attention he was soaking up before former General Manager Nico Harrison was fired earlier this season.

Hardy's aggression can be a relief to the Wizards' current skeleton crew lineup, with the exciting members of the young core forced to continue trekking in without the third-stringers that were offloaded in the trade. He can still shoot to the tune of 37.1% from outside through 34 games and 37.9% for his career, but his finishing within the arc hasn't been what it was in years past.

Still, Dawkins was sure to air his excitement at a "young, scoring athlete" to add to his ranks, providing Hardy with one last extension audition to close his fourth season. He could earn the leash to fill in for spark-plug scoring role left over by the injured Cam Whitmore should he defend consistently enough with his naturally-thick physical profile, making him another player to watch as the schedule continues on.

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Henry Brown
HENRY BROWN

Henry covers the Washington Wizards and Baltimore Ravens with prior experience as a sports reporter with The Baltimore Sun, the Capital Gazette and The Lead. A Bowie, MD native, he earned his Journalism degree at the University of Maryland.

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