Cavs: Potential FA target Josh Hart could be a great glue guy

At this point, the Cleveland Cavaliers should be set to land a potential superstar in the 2021 NBA Draft, and the likes of Jalen Green and Evan Mobley come to mind in that way as realistic targets.

Now, while I’m personally not the biggest fan of him for the Cavaliers, Jalen Suggs could down the road be that as well. From my perspective though, Green or Mobley would both be quite the prize for Cleveland, and could be game changers.

Granted, the Cavaliers could reportedly be open to trading their #3 pick in exchange as part of a package for an established star, with feasibly Kevin Love (salary matching) and perhaps Collin Sexton as part of that. Sexton, while we’ll have to see if he could eventually be dealt, has objectively been mentioned recently in trade rumors.

Nonetheless, it does seem to be far more likely that the Cavs end up just taking their pick at #3, which is a nice spot to be at in a loaded draft.

That said, Cleveland is reportedly looking to add talent with their roughly $10 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception this offseason, and as far as some potential targets that could aid them, T.J. McConnell and perhaps Patty Mills come to mind. Wing shooters such as Doug McDermott and Reggie Bullock could too, and McConnell and seemingly McDermott/Bullock were mentioned as potential targets for the Cavs by Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com in the aforementioned report.

While I’d be on-board with McConnell, Mills or McDermott, another player that could be a solid add could be Josh Hart, who is set to be a restricted free agent, but per Fedor, is looking for a “fresh start.”

And with the New Orleans Pelicans’ situation with Lonzo Ball’s impending restricted free agency, and with Hart being close with Larry Nance Jr., as Fedor hit on, perhaps he could be a sensible target for Cleveland.

Hart is not necessarily a key scoring presence, but he is a quality defender, good cutter/finisher and has shown he can be a viable catch-and-shoot threat. He could impact games in a number of ways off the bench, and could make a difference on both ends for Cleveland, as KJG’s Zane Harris detailed.

To me though, in a general sense, factoring in the energy and two-way element/hustle, he could be a token glue guy, if you will.

Cleveland Cavaliers: Hart could be a great glue guy.

To reiterate, Hart, who had 9.2 points per outing during this now-past season with New Orleans, is not going to be a player that’s going to be one of your top scorers, by and large.

In a bench role primarily though, he can help you in that way in more so an off-ball role, and while the three-point shooting has been streaky, it’s been alright for his career at 34.8 percent overall, and he can hit open looks off ball-swings.

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Hart is a capable driver at times too, which could aid Cleveland in spurts, and his ability to attack downhill and finish through contact could also provide energy for the Cavs, albeit not at necessarily the volume of say, a Sexton. But in non-Isaac Okoro minutes, that could be a meaningful secondary driving presence.

So from there, on the defensive end, Hart could be a legitimate impact guy game in and game out, and that relates to the glue guy moniker, to me, and with the energy he could give Cleveland in that way in his minutes.

Hart, as the aforementioned Harris touched on, is a quality perimeter defender, and with him being a put-together 215 pounds, but also a fluid athlete, he could fit in well in spurts/stretches in lineups with Garland and Sexton and others. That could be with Kevin Love/Nance/Dean Wade for example.

Additionally, Hart has impressive team defensive instincts, which has led to his share of deflections/steals, and in his potential minutes with Cleveland, could help the Wine and Gold get out on the break more by making passes more difficult.

Plus, Hart’s rebounding acumen and ability to get his share of contested boards, even at only 6-foot-5, would definitely play into him being the token glue guy, too, and could help give the Cavaliers a lift. He had 8.0 rebounds per game in 2020-21 and has had 7.5 per-36 minutes in his career, which included the Pelicans the past two seasons (via trade) and the Los Angeles Lakers in his first two seasons.

And lastly, though it’s not necessarily the crucial seller for a potential Hart signing by the Cavs, he has reportedly been an exemplary teammate throughout his career, and could be a great locker room presence that could help the Cavs’ young guys. The Nance connection would just be a cherry on top, so to speak, in that way.

So while others will seemingly factor in as other potential targets in free agency for the Cavaliers, Hart is another I’d be on-board with.

His two-way impact, provided he’s healthy (he missed the last 25 games for the Pels due to a torn UCL in his right thumb), and the energy/dynamic with teammates shouldn’t be discounted regarding his outlook as a possible Cavs target.