1. Jaden Hardy
Jaden Hardy’s role for the Dallas Mavericks next season is one of the many wonders that fans have heading into training camp.
Dallas has three ball handlers who will come off the bench with Spencer Dinwiddie, Dante Exum, and Hardy, but one of them may not play much. The Mavs are walking a tightrope with Hardy considering that he is in a contract year while also needing to develop him more, and this is going to be a big season for him to prove to the rest of the league that he can be a consistent scorer off the bench.
Last season for the Mavs, Hardy averaged 7.3 points per game, and we saw his efficiency take a dip compared to his rookie year. He wasn’t the same sniper from downtown that fans saw in his rookie year, and this caused him to fall down the depth chart as his role was seemingly always up in the air.
This changed in the playoffs due to Exum’s struggles, and Hardy thrived. Hardy was a big X-factor in the Western Conference Finals against the Minnesota Timberwolves, and his improvement as a playmaker helped Dallas’ offense thrive. He was showing he could operate in the pick and roll as a ball handler, and his lob passes were on point.
He still needs to show more improvements as a decision-maker and improve his efficiency if the Mavs want him to run the one when Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving are on the bench, and he has to get back to being a great shooter off the catch for him to truly fit the Mavs’ grand picture moving forward.
Hardy has decent trade value as he is in a contract year and will become a restricted free agent after this season, and he is definitely someone the Mavs could explore trading if they don’t see a future with him.
