Cavs: How potential FA target Josh Hart could help on both ends
By Zane Harris
Operating free agency in a small market like the Cleveland Cavaliers are forced to can sometimes be tricky unless a player like LeBron James is on the roster. They are quickly ruled out by many if not all of the big name, max contract-caliber players.
This causes the Cavs to go for under the radar players that can make a difference if given the opportunities. One of those players who could sign with Cleveland this offseason is Josh Hart.
Hart is set to be a restricted free agent, but the Pelicans could seemingly prioritize Lonzo Ball’s restricted free agency, and Hart would reportedly like a “fresh start,” per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. So with that in mind, and Hart it’d appear being a potential free agency target for the Cavs, per Fedor’s report, perhaps Hart could be a target via the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, set to be roughly $10 million.
As far as a bit of background, Hart was the 30th overall pick of the 2017 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers. He has spent two seasons with Lakers and two with the New Orleans Pelicans; he was acquired via trade by New Orleans, for context.
Things have not really worked out Hart’s way after being traded to the Pelicans, though.
With the team being built around Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram, Hart often times found himself as one of the odd man out.
This greatly affected his numbers this now-past season. Despite having a career-high in minutes per game, he only started in four games.
Along with this, his shots per game, three pointers attempted per game and points took a dip when compared to last season. But he could benefit from a change of scenery with Cleveland.
Although Hart would not be a starter for the Cavs unless they ran into injury issues, he could be very beneficial to the team on both ends.
Firstly, we’ll show how he could make a difference for them offensively.