The Dallas Mavericks got one of the steals of the 2022 NBA Draft when they traded for Jaden Hardy during draft night. Now, they are making sure they can keep him long term.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Mavs are expected to sign Hardy to a multi-year deal this week. In fact, they could put pen to paper before Dallas starts its Summer League stint in Las Vegas which starts July 7.
The Mavs apparently purposely withheld a part of its taxpayer midlevel exception during negotiations with JaVale McGee in order to offer Hardy a long-term contract.
Jaden Hardy was selected 37th overall by the Sacramento Kings, with the Mavs trading for the pick to get the young shooting guard. However, many consider him as a massive steal at that spot since the expectations were he's going in the first round.
Luckily for Dallas, they got the guy they've been eyeing for in the second round. With Jalen Brunson leaving for the New York Knicks, it is now more important than ever for the Mavs to bring more guard help for Luka Doncic and ensure he'll have a backcourt partner for the years to come.
While Hardy has a lot of work to do before he can unleash his full potential, the Mavs are confident he has the talent to be an elite scorer in the NBA.
“He’s a young kid, played for the G League Ignite, and he can really score the ball,” Mavs GM Nico Harrison said after drafting Hardy, per Sports Illustrated. “Super talented, he’s still raw – he’s young, so it’s going take a while. He was a second round draft pick, but he can really score the ball at a high level.”
“We had him higher than 37 [laughs]. Yeah, we were surprised. We were really shocked that he kept slipping.”
Just like what they did with Brunson, hopefully the Mavs can give Hardy the opportunity to grow.