SUMMER LEAGUE: Gm 5 84-95 loss, JH 15 pts, 3 ast, 3 rbd, 7 TO

[dirkfansince1998]

This was my point on draft night.  But I worry that he and the Mav's want him to be a three level scorer who handles the ball a lot and has high usage.  That is what he is against summer league and G-league competition with fairly inefficient results.  

I'm not positive that should be his NBA role to start and the more he tries to be that the more I fear he won't make it.  I'd rather he start as a three point shooter getting wide open looks here who can beat an aggressive closeout.  Let him find some success on something it appears he can learn to do and add the other stuff later.  Unfortunately, that won't happen being the star of our team in Frisco.  He's going to have to do it in NBA games which means spoon feeding him some minutes in his proper early career role rather than letting him develop bad habits in the minors.

I think the fact that he is able to handle a bigger role against lesser competition is encouraging. Even though the efficiency isn´t where it needs to be. Compared to Tyrell Terry last summer he is looking a lot better. He can create for himself and can handle contact. Now he will need to make the transition to a lesser role. Something that can be easier for players that are used to being role players (even in college or the g-league). And something that could be even harder if he spends a lot of time in Frisco.

Personally my biggest concern is still the defensive end. I have seen the effort and it is hard to evaluate anything else in a summer league game because the overall team defense is a lot worse but Hardy´s lateral quickness doesn´t look great and he probably needs at least one year to catch up on the fundamentals. Positioning, angles, communication...