3 takeaways from Jaden Hardy’s summer league debut with Dallas Mavericks

Takeaway from Jaden Hardy’s 1st summer league game with Dallas Mavericks: 3. Aggressive

Hardy showed zero hesitation in his first game with the Mavs. The 6’4 guard played mostly off the ball, but he attacked the rim hard when it got into his hands. Summer league head coach Greg St. Jean was running him off picks and encouraging him to attack off the catch.

Hardy’s finishing around the rim and ability to draw fouls was impressive on Friday afternoon. The 20-year-old made multiple difficult finishes like the one below.

Hardy was never afraid to push the ball and look for transition opportunities. He made the Bulls pay multiple times before their defense was set. Here he uses a hesitation dribble to blow past his defender in semi-transition for a dunk.

Jaden Hardy stayed aggressive throughout the contest, even when things were not going his way. He kept putting his head down and looking to score inside. The Mavericks' offense took a step forward last year after adding Spencer Dinwiddie, who is best as a secondary creator that can get to the rim. Hardy did just that in his first game in Vegas.

The Dallas Mavericks need him to turn it into control aggression as many of his errors were self-inflicted. He will play well off Luka Doncic as long as he becomes a league-average or better 3-point shooter. Fans know Hardy will be working on his jumper and defense as he prepares for his first NBA training camp.