Jaden Hardy Summer League Takeaways: ‘Luka & Kyrie Are Helping Me’

DALLAS — The main focus for the Dallas Mavericks during their Summer League participation was the development of second-year guard Jaden Hardy. A shoulder injury sidelined him after three games, but he was able to play enough to have helpful game film to review for the rest of the offseason. 

Hardy averaged 23.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.7 assists in 33.7 minutes per game. He shot 35.2 percent from the floor, 24.1 percent from 3-point range, and 72.7 percent on free throws. While his shot wasn't falling, he did manage to get to the free throw line for a staggering 11.0 attempts per game. 

"I made a lot of takeaways from playing out here," Hardy said.

With Hardy being such a talented scorer, a major focus in his ongoing development is his ability to make advanced passing reads, while maintaining his aggressiveness in the scoring department. He is focused on slowing down and making reads when he gets into the paint out of pick-and-roll.

"One of the things is when I get into the paint playing in pick-and-roll, slowing down and making the right reads," Hardy said. 

Another continued focus for Hardy is to maximize his impact attacking off the catch: "Just being able to play off the catch when I'm out there," Hardy said. "When I'm up playing with the normal team, we have Luka [Doncic] and Kyrie [Irving], so being able to play off the catch to make the quick decisions is important."

"Defensively, I have to be better defensively, just knowing where I'm supposed to be at scheme and personnel wise. So just continue to grow on that and getting more comfortable and with the defensive concept here."

As Hardy enters the rest of his summer, he'll be focused on studying his game film from Las Vegas and gaining reps on the court to improve. He was the top focus of the opposition's game planning efforts, so reviewing how he executed should enable him to come back for the 2023-24 season all the more prepared.

"Watching film and getting reps at it for real," Hardy said. "That's the way you'll grow the game. Not being afraid to mess up, watching the film on it, then growing from it."

As Hardy continues to work on his game early in his career, he mentioned Doncic and Irving as being two instrumental influences that have helped to teach him pointers on making reads and playing with pace.

"Guys on the team have been helpful, like Luka [Doncic] and Kyrie [Irving]," Hardy said. "They always have been helping me with reading the game, slowing down, and taking my time when I'm out there. So just continue to develop that and grow that maturity out there."

Beyond his own development, a benefit of playing in Summer League for Hardy was to get some early reps in with Mavs rookies Dereck Lively II and Olivier-Maxence Prosoper. Hardy was impressed with how they overcame limited practice time but still managed to make an impact. 

“I feel like they both had good summer leagues,” Hardy said of Lively and Prosper. “They have to continue to build on that. They joined us late, so just continue to get comfortable with the defensive schemes. And then have energy. They’re ready to work and have a lot of energy.

"Both of the young guys, they come in very ready to work, and they have a lot of energy.”

With about two full weeks of Summer League participation between practices in Dallas and time spent in Las Vegas, Hardy was able to build camaraderie with Lively and Prosper outside of the team structure.

"We hang out after the game, talk with each other, go get something to eat, and kick it,” Hardy said. "That's good to do with your teammates to build that chemistry, you know? Not only that, but to build friendship, too."

Grant Afseth is a Dallas Mavericks reporter for DallasBasketball.com and an NBA reporter for NBA Analysis Network. He previously covered the Indiana Pacers and NBA for CNHI's Kokomo Tribune and various NBA teams for USA TODAY Sports Media Group. Follow him on Twitter (@grantafseth), Facebook (@grantgafseth), and YouTube (@grantafseth).