Trade & FA 2023-24: Stein-Ingram Trade Inevitable| LAL Want Lebron Back On Any Terms

[KillerLeft]

Jaden Hardy will mostly play off-ball with either Kyrie or Luka on the floor as the primary ball handler.  Jaden's 3-point percentage last season was almost exactly the same as Seth Curry's.  His ability to handle the ball and get to the rim gives us some offensive versatility that Curry does not.  I don't think they want him dominating the ball like Luka does.  I think they can let him iso periodically though.  I don't think we want Luka having to create every single possession while Kyrie is off the floor.  

Jaden is also bigger and more athletic than Curry-  with experience, he should be less of a defensive liability.  Admittedly, his defense was bad last season but so was Curry's.  Jaden is likely to improve while Seth's is likely to continue to decline as he is both small and lacks athleticism (and 33 years old). 

I don't think Jaden's poor showing at PG in summer league means anything other than he won't be our 3rd PG this coming season.

We have some good data from the end of last season where Jaden Hardy looked great on offense while playing against actual NBA competition.

His numbers post-All Star break were as follows:

20.1 mpg     12.8 ppg       45.9 percent from 3 (on 5 attempts per game)       2.7 rpg    2.4 apg

That's pretty awesome for a rookie.  That's a young player who deserves continue playing time over Seth Curry.

I hope they do try to develop his pick and roll game.  I think with experience, he'll be better than Seth Curry at that as well.

I don't actually know what Jason Kidd will do this coming season.  It's possible that he will play Seth Curry more than Jaden Hardy.  I think that would be a terrible decision though.  Jaden may disappoint but the player we saw post-All Star break looked like a potential future star.  I hope Jason Kidd was paying attention.

As for THJ, I think that will be a tougher decision.  THJ is a decent defender so that calculus is more complicated.  I anticipate THJ playing more or similar minutes to Jaden this season.

I don't really disagree with much of this, and I don't have the time or will to argue right now, either. But, suffice it to say, I think this is kind of surface level analysis and maybe a little too confident of a prediction. It might work out how you expect. Very possible.  But, I'll say this again: what makes Hardy seem special is the plethora of solutions he has to create shots for himself in 1-on-1 situations. You can SAY that because his percentages are in the same range or better than Curry/Hardaway that the team wouldn't be losing anything in exchanging him for them, but frankly, I think that rings pretty false. Those guys have carved a niche in the NBA by playing off-ball and relocating a certain way at certain times, always ready to get shots off. He's got a ways to go to be on their level (at that, particular skillset).

He's already showing much more than they do with a live dribble. That's the "draw" with him, imo (not saying he can't also be a good spot up guy, just that he's not as good as THEM yet). But, again, do we really want to see the ball in his hands instead of Luka's or Kyrie's? I do not. 

When the dust clears, and Hardy becomes a full-blown NBA mainstay (I think he will) he will be known for his scoring in the midrange, I believe. The uphill battle he faces is this: only 1-3 players per team are allowed to attempt shots like that. In other words, he's either got to A) get to a team more in need of developing a "go to" guy or B) figure out a way to help the team in a different way sooner, hoping to get a go-to role down the line. Lots of things might change between now and the trade deadline, but from where I sit, Exum's 3rd ball-handler role is much more vulnerable than THJ AND Curry's off-ball shooter roles. 

We'll see what happens.