Mavericks Rookie Jaden Hardy ‘On the Outside Looking in’ of Rotation

Dallas coach Jason Kidd says rookie guard Hardy hasn’t yet earned a spot in the rotation.

For being a second-round pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, Jaden Hardy has high expectations. Entering last season as a member of the G League Ignite, he was projected to be a potential top-five selection. However, he had a fairly inefficient season and fell to pick No. 37 where the Dallas Mavericks took a chance on Hardy.

As it terms of upside and value relative to where he was taken, this was a fantastic pick by GM Nico Harrison and the Mavs. Hardy is a proven scorer that can put up points in a hurry.

In fact, he produced a team-high 21 points in his preseason debut against the Oklahoma City Thunder, including 16 of Dallas’ final 22 points in the win.

With that in mind, he’s got some work to do as an NBA player when it comes to impacting the game in other ways. Often times last season with the Ignite, Hardy lacked productivity when he wasn’t getting high volume shot attempts or was having an off shooting night.

In that sole season in the G League, Hardy averaged nearly 20 points per game, but shot just 30.9% from deep and 37.6% from the floor overall.

Even against Oklahoma City in that impressive outing, Hardy took 16 shots (including nine triples) in just under 24 minutes of action. This included just one assist and four turnovers.

Standing at 6-foot-3, Hardy is somewhat undersized but has a strong build. As he develops on both ends of the floor this season, he should naturally become a more well-rounded player while being a good scorer in the meantime.

With that in mind, it could take some time before he finds himself in the regular season rotation. Before the Mavericks’ preseason finale against the Utah Jazz on Friday night, head coach Jason Kidd gave insight into where Hardy sits in the rotation.

"Hardy has done an incredible job since Summer League. He's continued to work," Kidd said. “Right now, he's just on the outside looking in on the rotation, but that doesn't mean he's not going to get a chance to play."

As of now, Hardy isn’t expected to be in the rotation early in the season. Friday’s game was one in which Dallas played its true starting lineup and rotation, as he saw no action in the first half and didn’t take the floor until the final minutes when the game was out of reach  

It’s a long season, with Hardy having a legitimate shot at making an NBA All-Rookie team if he’s able to carve out a role. Injuries happen and rotations change all season long, so the opportunity will come at some point. Although it’s a different scenario, even Jalen Brunson needed an opportunity to find his groove and break out last season.

With Dallas needing to make up for some of the scoring Brunson left behind, there will be a time during the upcoming season when Hardy is called upon. When he gets that chance the rookie guard should have no problem scoring points, but it will be interesting to see how he develops in other areas and if he can be efficient as a shooter.

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