Advertisement
This is member-exclusive content
icon/ui/info filled

sportsRangers

Mavericks’ Jaden Hardy is ready to show ‘a whole nother level’ at NBA summer league

Hardy ended last season in the Mavs’ regular rotation, but most of his recent work has come out of public view.

Jared Dudley’s playbook as the Mavericks’ summer league head coach will be simple.

Jaden Hardy.

Jaden Hardy.

More Jaden Hardy.

Rangers

Be the smartest Rangers fan. Get the latest news.

Or with:

“All my plays are for Hardy,” Dudley revealed after the team’s first practice in Dallas.

Settle in, Mavericks fans, for a two-week show from the flashy, score-first, rising second-year guard during the summer league squad’s two weeks in Las Vegas.

Advertisement

Yes, Dallas’ staff will also focus on developing and challenging their first-round rookie duo of Dereck Lively II and Olivier-Maxence Prosper. But Hardy will command the biggest spotlight as he sheds his title of Youngest Mavericks Newcomer.

“Hardy’s on a whole nother level,” Dudley said. “His confidence, his array of shot-making ability is elite, and that’s why you see the potential, and that’s why fans love him and see what he can potentially be.”

Advertisement

Hardy finished his rookie NBA season averaging 8.8 points (43.8% shooting, 40.4% 3-point shooting), 1.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 14.8 minutes across 48 games. He ended the campaign in the Mavericks’ regular rotation, but most of Hardy’s recent work has come out of public view.

He took less than two weeks off after the regular season ended in a playoff-less skid April 9, and has worked out in the Mavericks facility almost every day since.

At first, training started with weights and conditioning. He lifted, emphasized cardio and refined his diet to better prepare his body for the physical rigors he expects to come as a full-time contributor next season.

Out: Fast food, except for the occasional Chipotle order when he needs something quick.

In: Better lateral agility that has helped him hold and move in his defensive stance longer.

“I used to eat In-N-Out burgers,” Hardy quipped, “but I can’t do that no more.”

The last four weeks, Hardy has worked closely with Dudley to assume the Mavericks’ summer league alpha role.

They’ve drilled ball-handling situations to help Hardy improve as a creator, particularly in pick-and-roll situations against early coverage from the frontcourt defense.

Advertisement

Dudley has emphasized the importance of Hardy making passes to the corners or out on the wings — regardless of whether teammates connect on the shot — to help open driving lanes for him to score later on in games. Same goes for Hardy’s timing on late lobs whenever a big man fakes on defense.

“Jaden wakes up as a scorer,” Dudley said. “It’s hard to learn, and that’s why we keep stressing on it and stressing on it. One day it’s going to click for him.”

Sometimes, Dudley will allow the Mavericks’ practice refs to call fouls on Hardy’s defenders.

Other times, Hardy must fight through extra contact — like Wednesday when Dudley called for a triple-team defense against Hardy during the final scrimmage session.

Advertisement

Dallas’ staff wants to see how the 21-year-old reacts.

“They’re going to trap him. They’re going to load up on him, foul him,” Dudley said. “Sometimes I give him the call, and sometimes I purposefully don’t call any fouls for him to see him frustrate him and let him work through.

“At the end of the day, these refs are humans. They might have a bad day at the house and want to come in and call a certain call. It’s how life works. We’re all humans, so just about to prepare him for what he’s about to see here.”

Advertisement

Before his second summer-league stretch, Hardy reflected on his rookie acclimation, which started with a 28-point game in July 2022 a few miles from his Coronado High School (Nev.) stomping grounds.

He slid in the 2022 NBA draft from a one-time top-five projection to No. 37 overall, where the Mavericks acquired his rights in a trade with the Sacramento Kings.

He spent stretches in the G League during the first two months of the season, lamented the midseason trade departure of his two closest veteran mentors (Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith) and navigated the challenges of a new professional lifestyle without a fellow rookie counterpart.

Now, he’s ready to share his perspective on the experience with the new rookie class as he leads the Mavericks’ summer league charge.

Advertisement

“Just stay with it,” Hardy told Lively and Prosper over dinner at Nick and Sam’s Steakhouse on Monday. “Even when things are not going your way — just being a great person, great teammate — that’s something you can control, is your character.

“Have fun, too, but the work comes first.”

Related Stories
View More

Find more Mavericks coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.