Mavericks' once-celebrated roster move has spiraled into a future disaster

Roughly around this time last season, the Dallas Mavericks elected to give young guard Jaden Hardy a three-year $18 million contract extension, as this was a move that was highly lauded by most fans and members of Dallas' organization at the time. However, Hardy didn't showcase much progression last season, and many fans ended up being upset Dallas chose to extend him over Quentin Grimes, and rightfully so, given Grimes' ascension with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Despite trade rumors this offseason, Hardy remains on Dallas' roster heading into training camp, but the implications of his extension are still coming back to bite the Mavericks, even if one completely disregards the Grimes situation. Dallas recently announced they'll be bringing back Dennis Smith Jr. on a training camp deal, and it's without a doubt that Dallas could use someone with Smith Jr.'s skillset over Hardy's.

However, Smith Jr. will likely get cut following training camp unless Dallas opts to part ways with someone like Brandon Williams because he's on a partially guaranteed deal. As of right now, Hardy may be the worst point guard coming into Dallas' training camp, especially if two-way signee Ryan Nembhard continues his momentum from Summer League, yet Hardy is the second-highest-paid point guard on Dallas' roster next season behind Kyrie Irving.

Mavericks will likely regret the Hardy extension by start of season

It's not uncommon for teams to bring excess players into training camp despite already filling their entire 15-man roster, but the Mavericks undoubtedly have a solid talent pool when it comes to their two-way signees and non-guaranteed signees, and Hardy being on this extension compromises their ability to give someone else a deal who could be more deserving.

Make no mistake about it, Hardy is still only 23 years old and had a great summer by all accounts, and he could very well come into training camp playing better than he ever has from a shooting and playmaking perspective, but it's hard to make this argument given his general lack of improvement through three seasons in the league.

While Hardy is a far better shooter compared to someone like Smith Jr., Dallas desperately needs lockdown point-of-attack defenders, as Williams, D'Angelo Russell, and even Dante Exum are more trusted options when it comes to attacking the rim and creating from all three levels compared to Hardy.

Many fans are intrigued as ever at Williams' potential given how big of a leap he showed toward the end of last season, but it's unfortunate the Mavericks could be forced to choose between someone like him and Smith Jr. when it comes to who may get the last standard roster spot on this squad, as that would be the only cap sheet maneuver the Mavericks could make without having to throw a ton of money down the drain by stretch-and-waiving someone like Hardy or Dwight Powell.

There's always the possibility that the Mavericks find a consolidation trade for Hardy before the start of the season, but Dallas' roster seems fairly set in stone, barring one of their two-way or non-guaranteed guys having an insane training camp and preseason to the point where they simply are forced to make space for them. For now, Mavericks fans must hope Hardy capitalizes upon a fresh opportunity this season, as this could be his last chance, and the optics of his extension will only continue to get worse if he doesn't.