Mavericks' once-hyped draft pick is falling apart with no sign of recovery

As uncomfortable as it may seem for many fans, the reality of Jaden Hardy's situation as a Dallas Maverick is that it could very likely come to an end in the coming weeks. With training camp quickly approaching, Hardy and many other guards are finding themselves in a positional battle; however, after signing Dennis Smith Jr. to a one-year training camp contract, the Mavericks could be weighing their options with some of their young guards.

Hardy's time as a Maverick has been filled with up-and-down moments that have seen him ball out in the playoffs, all the way to him losing his rotational spot on a team that was desperately needing offensive creation due to injuries. While Hardy has spent a large chunk of his professional career coming off the bench, fans always knew that the sky was the limit for Hardy if he could just begin to shoot the three-ball at a consistent clip, as well as develop a respectable perimeter defensive game.

Now, with Smith Jr. on the roster, Hardy's true position with the Mavericks may finally be exposed. After signing a three-year, $18 million rookie extension last offseason, Hardy's value may be as high as it ever will be, so the Mavericks will need to weigh all possible options if they are serious about bringing back a former fan favorite in Smith Jr. to the Mavericks.

Hardy's time in Dallas could be over after signing Smith Jr.

Since his third season in the NBA, fans began to understand that maybe Hardy's ceiling wasn't as high as everyone once thought it could be. After being drafted in the second round of the 2022 NBA Draft, the hype surrounding Hardy could not be slowed down, as he was once thought to be a top-three projected pick of his class before signing with the G League Ignite out of high school.

Although Hardy's stock would fall after high school, the Mavericks still came away with a home-run pick, as in his rookie season, Hardy would begin to make flashes as one of the purest scorers that the Mavericks possessed. It may have been short-lived, but every fan understood what Hardy's potential could be. Now it was time for him to develop other skills on the defensive end.

As Hardy now reaches his fourth season in the NBA, it's already clear to see that he hasn't developed many skills outside of scoring with the ball in his hands. Not only would Hardy see a dramatic drop off in usage last year due to injuries, but he was also played out of Jason Kidd's rotation on many occasions just for simply not being good enough on the defensive end or making bad decisions with the ball in his hands.

Hardy has always struggled with decision-making, especially when needing to pass the ball, which has been a large reason his career has fallen apart with the Mavericks. Now, in a situation where the Mavericks are testing all options in their guard rotation, Hardy could quickly find that his time with the Mavericks could be coming to an end.

It would be hard to get off a contract of Hardy's magnitude, but trading him would be the best option. Unfortunately for Dallas, if Smith Jr. comes out of the gates and impresses everyone, they would likely need to attach draft capital to Hardy's contract, which is something they have already avoided trying to do with Olivier-Maxence Prosper's contract.

Hardy would likely flourish on a team where there is little to no expectation for winning that would give him the chance to develop with actual minutes on the floor, but it's already easy to see that Hardy's time in Dallas could quickly be coming to an end.