Dallas Mavericks Trade Into 2022 NBA Draft To Get Jaden Hardy

Nico Harrison made the first draft selection of his tenure as Dallas Mavericks GM Thursday night during the 2022 NBA Draft. Sort of. The Mavericks traded for the draft rights to guard Jaden Hardy from the Sacramento Kings in exchange for Dallas’ second-round picks in 2024 and 2028.

Even if it is a proxy pick, it’s nonetheless a milestone for Harrison. When Dallas hired him as the team’s new general manager last season, replacing outgoing long-time GM Donnie Nelson, the Mavericks did not have any draft picks. Thanks to savvy trades he made before the trade deadline and leading up to the draft, the same fate awaited Harrison again this year. Rather than stand pat, he was able to be proactive, move into the draft and scoop up a once-vaunted prospect.

“I had no inclination,” Harrison said of trading to get back into the draft. “I just knew that we did the work, we knew the guys we liked and if guys we liked, like Jaden, were available then we would try to get back in. You can’t predict that. It happened, so we did as we said we would do. We got in and we got the player that we liked.”

In Hardy, the Mavericks have a player who was ranked as ESPN’s top guard and the No. 2 player in the 2021 high school class. During his junior year at Coronado High School in Henderson, Nevada, he averaged 30.4 points, 9.1 rebounds and 8.4 assists. He earned McDonald’s All-American and USA Nike Hoops Summit accolades in 2020-21.

Foregoing his senior year, Hardy made the jump to the NBA G League where he played for the Ignite, the league’s one-year development program for elite prospects touted as an alternative to college basketball. The 6-foot-4 Hardy averaged a team-high 19.8 points to go along with 4.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game in 24 games with the Ignite.

“If you look at the way he grew with the Ignite, he started off a little slow,” Harrison said. “He really came into his own. He’s athletic, he’s long, long wingspan, good size. He can get to the basket at will and he’s a scorer. He’s been a scorer his whole life, but I think when you take a kid that doesn’t go to college and tries the G League Ignite and is playing with older, more mature people and you see him develop as he’s going through that, it just shows you what he can become.”

Harrison and the Mavericks’ scouts have had their eye on Hardy for a while. They watched a lot of his film and were able to see him play in person. Harrison saw him at the G League’s 2021 AT&T Winter Showcase in Las Vegas. That’s why it came as a surprise that Hardy, who was once projected much higher, fell so far in the draft. The Mavericks had him ranked No. 19 on their draft board, according to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon.

“We had him higher than 37,” Harrison said with a laugh. “Yeah, we were surprised. We were really shocked that he kept slipping.”

Harrison was happy to see Hardy slip. It was the impetus he needed to make a move to get into the action. Although he doesn’t yet know whether Hardy will make the 15-man roster or sign a two-way contract for the 2022-23 season, Harrison says that he expects his first-ever draft selection to have a “long-term future” with the Mavericks.

He may still be a raw talent, but Harrison sees his experience in the G League, playing alongside NBA veterans as an advantage over players who compete collegiately. He earned the trust of his teammates with the Ignite and was able to improve as the season progressed. It may take time, but Harrison has confidence that he made the right move and that Hardy will be a staple in Dallas.

“I think you’ve got to give young guys a chance to develop, but [he] definitely [has upside],” Harrison said. “We drafted him because we think he’ll be a rotation player, for sure.”