IT'S HARDY TIME: Jaden Hardy looking like a decent prospect

[Mavs2021]

Watching the highlights of his lay-ups, it´s still noticeable that he´s not as tall or vertical as projected/meausred,whatever you want to call it. But finishing around the rim is not all about size and jumping ability, it´s more about the ability to absorb contact and your touch for the basketball. I was concerned about both these things. Early in his NBA minutes that led to a lot of blocked shots and had me really concerned about his long-term prospects.

This game he showed tremendous progress in problem-solving these issues. Honestly it felt like I was watching a mini-Luka using his body to bump defenders off to create the split second of space, delayed attacks, changing directions, using the glass and very good control finishing through some contact with different angles. What he lacks in leaping ability, he does make up for with his lateral and downhill quickness with good handles.

But this also just adds to what I have been saying for years: need to play against the big boys, make mistakes and learn. There is no replacement for real minutes. Practice is just practice.

Maybe Nico hasn´t had the greatest start in terms of his free agency and trade dealings, but maybe Hardy is a sign of things to come. There are many ways to success in the NBA, you just need to focus on your strength. If it turns out Nico really does have an eye for talent and big part of that is evaluating the personality of young players, then use it. Memphis has drafted a stunning 12 of 15 players on their roster.

Also Hardy provides an interesting case for the G-League to NBA route. Was a top 5 projected player coming out of high school, then sucked and dropped like a stone. Maybe there is more players like him and you can get steals late in the draft, because teams have very little data of what a typical successful/failed progression via that route looks like.