06-26-2022, 09:50 AM
(06-25-2022, 04:20 PM)Fuerza1 Wrote: I preferred to chase after more defensive potential (preferably at the wing) but I get why Nico rolled the dice on Jaden Hardy.
The Positives:
- Nico not afraid to tap into the youth pipeline despite not having a draft pick and his team being a playoff mainstay.
- Shot creators and shooting are always a hot commodity.
- Hardy is raw but has a good shooting stroke with a decent handle, and adequate size (SG potential). I think he is "athletic" enough.
The Negatives:
- Most likely, not a year 1 player unless Dinwiddie/THJ are dropped, even then I am not sold. Year 2 might be tough too.
- Despite his promising shot mechanics, he shot the ball poorly from the field.
- Terrible finisher and defender, sorry needs to be said again.
- BBall IQ is AAU level
- Top 5 hype but teammates like Daniels, Beauchamp, and Scoot outshined him. There is a reason he dropped to #37. He is 3 months older than Kuminga, and only 5 months younger than Jalen Green; these two showed more flashes during their G-League stints, leading to top 7 overall selections (2021 draft was stronger, IMO).
I know Nico had him at #19, apparently Hardy had good workouts during the draft process. IMO, he has classic 6th man scoring punch a la Jordan Clarkson at best. That would be a great 2nd round steal however he has a ton of flaws right now.
Sorry if this is a repost but this article talks about his strengths and weaknesses. If his defensive ability is not a result of any athletic shortcomings as this article states, that is something a coaching staff can work with. At the end of the day he was the 37th pick and not the 19th. Hope that serves as a wake up call for him to shore up his areas of weaknesses.
https://medium.com/@asktumma/scouting-re...f0b59429cd