Jaden Hardy has agreed to a three-year, $18M extension with the Mavericks, ESPN’s Shams Charania tweeted.
Hardy was a second-round pick in 2022 and the contract he’s signing is considered a veteran’s extension. He was eligible for an extension at any point this season, unlike some other veterans who faced a Monday deadline. However, Hardy and the team chose to get the deal done earlier than later.
The final year of Hardy’s extension will include a team option, Tim MacMahon of ESPN tweeted.
In related news, the Mavericks won’t be signing Quentin Grimes to a rookie-scale extension, The Athletic’s Fred Katz tweeted. Grimes will be headed to restricted free agency next summer.
Hardy has proved to be a valuable rotation player in his two NBA seasons. He saw action in 73 regular-season games last season including seven starts, averaging 7.3 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 13.5 minutes. He’s established himself as a reliable three-point threat in his two seasons in Dallas (37.9 percent).
The 6-foot-4 Hardy also played regularly in the postseason, albeit in limited minutes. He averaged 4.2 points in 6.8 minutes.
Low-cost rotation players are extremely valuable to contenders with max contract players on their ledger so Hardy’s willingness to sign for an average of $6M per season was naturally an incentive for the Western Conference champions.
The Grimes news comes somewhat as a surprise, considering he was reportedly negotiating a three-year extension with Dallas. Apparently, the two sides couldn’t agree on the contract figures.
Grimes, a late first-rounder in 2021, spent two-and-a-half seasons with the Knicks, then was dealt to the Pistons during the February trade deadline. Detroit included Grimes in the offseason Tim Hardaway Jr. deal.
