Trade & FA 2024-25:

[KillerLeft]

I’ve been harsh on Hardy. The biggest eye opener for me was Summer League last year when they tried to make him a point guard and it went miserably. They clearly WANT him to be a combo guard but to me it’s like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. I have no idea if they think the same. 

Summer league goes miserably for everyone on the offensive end, because everyone on the court is constantly desperate to prove they belong in the NBA. That manifests itself, unfortunately, in the opposite of what would probably get teams' attention: a group of guys who know how to play connected, team ball. 

I have never seen any evidence that he can't play PG, at least not in the way the Mavericks mean when they use that term. Use a high screen, penetrate off the dribble with the idea of scoring and kick to the open man if the paint is congested, OR use something out of your mid-range bag. Hardy has made tremendous progress in all of those areas. Heck, I think he might be a more willing passer than Kyrie, tbh. ALL "point guards" are "combo guards" now, especially on teams like Dallas. 

If you're right and he's only going to be a play finisher, then that's just another way of saying he won't make it in the NBA, because guards his size who are only shooters and not also defenders really aren't in demand anymore. If Hardy is to be anything, he needs the BALL. That's everything to his game. To me, the guy with the ball on offense is the point guard.