Good Call: Mavs ‘Prioritized’ Keeping Josh Green, Jaden Hardy in Kyrie Irving Trade

When working to acquire the eight-time All-Star, the Mavericks made it clear that Josh Green and Jaden Hardy were to remain in Dallas.

NBA trade season kicked off in quite the dramatic fashion for the Dallas Mavericks.

On Sunday, the Mavericks agreed to a deal that netted them Kyrie Irving and Markieff Morris in exchange for Dorian Finney-Smith, Spencer Dinwiddie, an unprotected 2029 first-round pick, and Dallas' 2027 and 2029 second-rounders.

In efforts to raise the Mavericks' ceiling and give Luka Doncic a star-quality running mate, Nico Harrison and company took a leap of faith and brought Irving to Dallas.

Though some may feel that the Mavs shouldn’t have made Finney-Smith available in the trade with the Nets, the Dallas brass had other young players in mind that they made sure to keep in a Mavericks jersey.

Reported by The Athletic's Tim Cato on Sunday night, the Mavericks 'prioritized' keeping third-year wing Josh Green and rookie Jaden Hardy out of trade talks with Brooklyn. 

"Several sources indicated the team prioritized Josh Green, a blossoming 22-year-old wing, to not being included in the trade despite Brooklyn’s strong interest in him. Dallas also made sure to hold onto rookie guard Jaden Hardy, a raw combo guard who currently has minor trade value, but meaningful upside in the coming seasons."

It appears that Green and Hardy got a significant boost of confidence knowing that the Mavs prioritized keeping them on the roster, as each of them scored career-highs in Dallas’ 124-111 win over the Utah Jazz on Monday night — the Mavs’ first win when Doncic hasn’t played this season.

Green finished with 29 points on 10-17 shooting overall and 3-6 from deep, and Hardy pitched in 29 points as well from the bench while shooting 8-12 overall and 4-6 from deep in just 26 minutes.

"We're going to have to give [Hardy] minutes here,” said coach Jason Kidd. “He brings us something that we don't have, and that's speed. He's fearless about getting to the rim. He's showing that he can play-make, too."

And as for Green? Kidd believes he could be on the cusp of being a starter for the Mavs going forward.

"We believe that he can be a starter in this league at some point,” said Kidd. “Right now, with the health issues, he has to start. ... He's not afraid of the moment and he showed that this evening."

One thing is for sure: the Mavs’ young guys have been given a jolt of energy from the trade that shocked the basketball world just a few days ago. There is only one goal in mind going forward.

"We feel that getting [Kyrie] is going to help put us in a position to win a championship,” said Kidd. Green echoed those thoughts in his postgame interview, saying that if they’re going to win a title, it’s going to be about the Mavs’ role players stepping up around Doncic and Irving.

Trading for Irving is a win-now kind of move for the Mavs, but making sure to keep both Green and Hardy out of the deal keeps some talented youth on the roster for what could be a bright future as well.

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