3 Reasons the Mavericks shouldn't trade Jaden Hardy

In the summer of 2022, the Dallas Mavericks decided to trade back into the second round of the NBA Draft. They selected a Jaden Hardy out of the G League Ignite. It had some NBA reporters scratching their heads due to Hardy's size and age.

Before the NBA Draft even happened, reporters had the Mavericks drafting a seasoned point guard from college. It threw everyone off to see the Mavericks select Hardy, an extremely young player, instead.

3 Reasons the Mavericks shouldn't trade Jaden Hardy

It even puzzled me as I sat on my couch looking at the name come across the board as the official selection. The first couple of things that went through my mind were pretty simple: Why did the Mavericks make this selection this early in the second round? Why did the Mavericks draft a 20-year-old from a team that's only a couple of years old?

Since I cover the Texas Legends for The Smoking Cuban, I got to see firsthand why the Mavericks ended up drafting him early on in the season. He was sent down to get playing time since he was not getting many minutes with the main club.

The Mavericks invested in a very explosive offensive-minded guard with a ceiling he hasn't come close to reaching yet. Hardy worked his butt off to show Kidd why he deserved playing time with the Mavericks during the first couple of months of the season with the Legends.

After he was called back up to Dallas and showed his true potential to the fanbase, he showed why he should be the next starting point guard for the Mavericks on the court. Let's take a look at the three reasons why the Mavericks shouldn't trade Hardy.

3. Starter potential post-Kyrie Irving

One of the reasons why I think the Mavericks shouldn't trade Jaden Hardy is because I think he's next in line to be the starting point guard after Kyrie Irving leaves.

Hardy is still young and learning the NBA game after spending time with the Texas Legends last year. It should come as no surprise that he started his rookie campaign down there since Jason Kidd usually doesn't give minutes to rookies.

While attending some of the Texas Legend games at the beginning of the year, Hardy showed that he could ball with the best players in this league. Former Legends coach George Galanopoulos started Hardy right away and allowed him to control the floor alongside McKinley Wright IV.

He was directing players where to set screens and drawing attention to himself. He even has the speed to get to the basket like Irving does.

I know Kyrie Irving is more than likely going to bounce as soon as his contract is up. He's at the end of his career, and the Mavericks are his last shot to add another ring to his collection.

I also know it will hurt Luka Doncic to play shooting guard, but Hardy's ability to draw attention will open up shots for Doncic on the court. Hardy could be Doncic's

2. Need for bench offense

Another reason why the Mavericks should keep Hardy instead of trading him is so he can run the second-team offense.

In the game of basketball, players are inevitably going to need rest. The starters aren't going to be able to play all 48 minutes. The Mavericks need someone they can trust coming into games and directing the offense. That is where Hardy comes into play.

His experience running the offense with the Texas Legends should help him in this regard, as he picked up valuable experience as one of the focal points of their offense.

I know the Mavericks traded for Seth Curry and Kidd might like that option more than Hardy to run the second-team offense, but the youngster's playmaking abilities make him a better choice for the backup point guard spot.

The Mavericks need someone with some speed to get down the floor and score before the opposing team has time to set up their offense. Hardy has that speed in his arsenal and he has the ability to get the ball up court quicker than Curry does.

Curry will have a huge role in the second-team offense this upcoming season, but Hardy will be the one guiding the team on the court.

1. Trade value is still increasing

This reason sounds a bit strange after praising Hardy in the previous slides, so hear me out.

Hardy hasn't really gotten to show his true potential at the NBA level just yet. He's only played one season with the Mavericks and some teams don't know what he's truly capable of yet. That's why I think Nico Harrison made it clear that they aren't trading Hardy or Josh Green - he knows that they can get so much more if they inflate their value over the course of this upcoming season.

Realistically, I think Hardy could become an extremely valuable asset for the Mavericks. He could even help Dallas net an All-Star-caliber player or first-round picks.

Right now, however, Hardy would probably only net the Mavericks second-rounders and/or bench pieces. I think once Hardy shows that he's capable of running an offense and starts in some games this year, his value could increase.

I could be wrong on this reason altogether, though, as it's possible the Mavericks end up keeping Hardy for the remainder of his NBA career. He's got such a bright future in the NBA.

I could see him ending up as a Hall-of-Famer. He's got all the abilities and skills in order to do so. Hopefully, Harrison and Cuban decide that he's the next starting point guard after Irving leaves and keep him here for a long time.