Cavs: 2 realistic expectations for potential FA target Josh Hart

The Cleveland Cavaliers should be able to land a difference maker for their rebuild in the 2021 NBA Draft, set to commence on July 29.

The likes of Jalen Green and Evan Mobley first come to mind at their #3 spot, and while I’m personally not a huge fan for the Cavaliers, Jalen Suggs could be in the mix for them. Jonathan Kuminga and Scottie Barnes could perhaps be in play for Cleveland at that spot as well, although I wouldn’t think would be as likely, and we’d have to see as far as a potential trade down.

Now, the Cavs could reportedly be open to involving their third pick in a possible trade for an established star, and perhaps the likes of Kevin Love and/or rumored trade candidate Collin Sexton could be part of a package.

But I wouldn’t expect that the Cavs would end up doing that, and given that they could likely get either Green or Mobley, in particular, I’d think they’ll make that selection.

In relation to the free agency outlook for the Cavaliers, shifting gears away from the draft in this sense, it would seem that the likes of T.J. McConnell, Patty Mills and/or perhaps Frank Ntilikina could be potential targets for Cleveland.

The same could go for the likes of Doug McDermott, perhaps Reggie Bullock and Josh Hart, as an alternative, and for further context, McConnell, McDermott, Bullock and Hart were mentioned as possible targets it appeared, per a report from Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.

And while Hart is set to be a restricted free agent, given the New Orleans Pelicans’ situation involving Lonzo Ball’s restricted free agency, and Hart is said to want a “fresh start,” as Fedor’s report stated, he could be a logical target.

The names mentioned as free agency targets are reportedly via the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, which is set to be roughly $10 million, per Fedor.

That said, I would still think they could maybe be had for some less than that, in the $6-7 million per year range, via multi-year deals, for instance, and also with Dean Wade and Lamar Stevens in mind with some of the MLE. Both are set to be non-guaranteed contract-wise from here for multiple years still, and well at least Wade could still stick around it’d seem.

In any case, while I’d be on-board with McConnell, McDermott or Ntilikina with a cheaper deal it’d appear, assuming he’s not extended a qualifying offer by the New York Knicks, I’d be on-board with Hart, too.

So what’d be fair to expect from a potential target in Hart, then?

Here, we’ll take a look at two realistic expectations for a potential Hart signing for the Cavs.

We’ll get into that next, with #1.