LAS VEGAS – As he juked a defender, then pulled the string on his move for a step-back jumper that nestled softly into the net, Jaden Hardy smiled and his teammates yelped.
Yes, the kid had himself a day to remember in his NBA Summer League debut.
The second-round draftee dropped in 28 points on Friday afternoon at Thomas & Mack Center and did a lot of things very well and a few things not so well – absolutely expected out of a rookie getting his first taste of NBA competition.
The Mavericks dropped a 100-99 overtime heartbreaker to the Chicago Bulls in their summer-league opener, but it was a game that provided everybody with a chance to glimpse the potential of Hardy, the 6-4 guard who the Mavericks traded to get with the 37th pick in last month’s draft.