Jaden Hardy Hopes to Expand Role in 2nd Mavs Season

The young Dallas Mavericks prospect brings the shooting prowess to be another key weapon on the outside for Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.

Following a short stint in the Summer League, Dallas Mavericks second-year guard Jaden Hardy returns to training camp after a shoulder injury sat him out for most of the Las Vegas event. 

In his three games for the Mavericks’ Summer League team, the 6-3 guard gained valuable experience, getting opportunities to improve in the pick-and-roll as the team's first option. While only shooting 35.2 percent from the floor and 24.1 percent from deep, his 23.0 points and 11 free-throw attempts per game displayed the promise that the Mavericks saw when trading into the second round of the 2022 NBA Draft to select him at No. 37.

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Heading into training camp, Hardy will look to improve on his playmaking first and foremost. His inability to produce on the aforementioned pick-and-roll plays was a large catalyst for his Summer League struggles, and it's hard to see him playing too many minutes at the point guard position this year if he can’t show progress as an initiator.

"When I'm in those [pick-and-roll]  situations, just coming off the screen, [I’m] seeing what I've got, and trying to get the defenders on their heels to try to make the right play," Hardy told DallasBasketball.com in April.

"[I'm] just continuing to gain confidence and working on my game, [during] the hours that aren't seen. Just being more confident out there, when I'm out there just focusing on knocking down those shots."

Hardy has the ability to take over a game. He gave us a glimpse of that by averaging 28.8 point per game for the Texas Legends last season in his 11 games with the team. He also had nine 20-point scoring outings for the Mavericks in the same season, including a career-high 29 points against the Utah Jazz in early February.

Hardy has shown that he has the skills to be successful in this league. If he continues to work on his consistency and comfort level with the ball in his hands, he should be able to get where he needs to be to have a big impact for the Mavericks this season.