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

Takeaway from Jaden Hardy’s 1st summer league game with Dallas Mavericks: 2. Needs polish

Hardy showed flashes of brilliance, but there were plays that reminded fans he is a 20-year-old rookie too. He launched a pass into the stands in the first quarter that would have been uncatchable no matter how tall the player in the corner stood. It was one of six turnovers Hardy committed on Friday afternoon after he averaged 3.4 per game last season with the Ignite.

The 6’4 guard sank two 3-pointers on nine attempts against the Bulls after shooting just 30.9 percent from long range last season. He settled for pull-up jumpers and struggled to hit them. Hardy has the stroke and can sink catch-and-shoot tries, but he needs to limit his off-the-dribble triples at this stage.

He tried taking over in the final minutes, but committed multiple mistakes. Hardy was twice stripped on drives that resulted in turnovers. He missed a step-back three as time expired that would have won Dallas the game after rejecting a screen and failing to attack the rim in the final seconds with the contest tied.

Jaden Hardy needs to polish up his game to be ready for an NBA rotation role. He looked like a 20-year-old rookie in his summer league debut. There were too many turnovers and some poor shot selection. Those were areas of Hardy’s game fans knew he needed to clean up, and they showed again on Friday afternoon.