Evaluating Each New Player’s First Season with the New Orleans Pelicans

A do-it-all wing who keeps the team together

Josh Hart – 57 games, 10.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 41.6 FG%

2019-20 projections – 6.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 43.9 FG%, 20.8 min

Hart was a solid all-around contributor for the New Orleans Pelicans. He was the glue guy for all different lineup combinations with this team. As the least heralded player coming back from the Lakers in the Anthony Davis trade, Hart may have been expected to fly under the radar.

While his play may not have popped off the stat sheet, if you watched him play you’d notice a guy who was often in the right place at the right time getting steals and deflections on defense.

His rebounding may have been the most surprising aspect of his game. His 21.4% defensive rebounding rate was the second highest for any guard this year (only Luka Doncic was higher with 24.7%). If he keeps up this level of play, Hart will force his way into more minutes than the 27.4 he had.

The best three point shooter in team history

JJ Redick – 54 games, 14.9 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 45.0 FG%

2019-20 projections – 13.6 points, 2.0 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 44.6 FG%, 25.4 min

Unfortunately it doesn’t seem like Redick will continue his streak of making the playoffs every season of his 13-year career. He’ll have to settle for having the best three-point percentage in franchise history, shooting 45.2% in his 54 games with New Orleans.

While typically thought of as a spot-up shooter, Redick is nearly as effective shooting pull-ups off of screens. His constant movement off-ball forces the defense to continually rotate and shift where the help comes from. Players like Redick are often overlooked when fans talk about each player’s contribution to an offense.