New Orleans Pelicans: Is Josh Hart worth keeping long-term?

Josh Hart had a big night for the New Orleans Pelicans against the Houston Rockets, but he’s a restricted free agent this summer

Josh Hart had a night to remember in the New Orleans Pelicans’ blowout win over the Houston Rockets, putting up 20 points and 17 rebounds after initially being listed as questionable for the game.

Hart was everywhere during his 40 minutes on the court, joining the likes of Anthony Davis, David West, and Tyson Chandler in New Orleans folklore by becoming one of the few Pelicans in history to post 20+ points and 17+ rebounds in a game. He also had a steal, two blocks, and three triples.

The Villanova product will be a restricted free agent this summer, meaning that the New Orleans Pelicans ultimately remain in control of where he will end up. However, if a team is willing to offer Hart more money than the Pelicans are comfortable with, he would leave the Smoothie King Center and join the third team of his career.

Hart has been a vital cog for Stan Van Gundy this season, often filling in at power forward. Despite only being 6-foot-5, Hart plays much bigger than that on a nightly basis. A lot of what he does is contradictory to how he looks, but that is what makes him special.

Hart is the Pelicans’ most versatile defender, being able to check guards, wings, and forwards. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him check-in at the 5 at some point in his career. Hart is also arguably the team’s grittiest player and, behind Steven Adams, New Orleans’ best rebounder. That is quite a feat for Hart given the Kiwi center’s skillset, a penchant for hustle plays, and a six-inch difference.

That begs the question: what’s next for Hart? Is he underutilized and possibly a breakout candidate should he leave the New Orleans Pelicans this summer?

Quite simply, the answer is no but there is nothing wrong with that. The Pelicans should still look to keep Hart when he hits restricted free agency even though he is probably close to his full potential.

The reality is that most NBA players will not put up 20 and 17 on any given night, and that is true for Hart as well. He reverted to a solid but unspectacular eight points in the Pelicans’ Wednesday night game against the Chicago Bulls. The role for his career is probably already established: a 3-and-D guy who can slide up and down positions and be a rebounding presence. That’s a very valuable player for most NBA teams, including the Pelicans.

Right now, the New Orleans Pelicans have two guys to build around—three if you include Lonzo Ball, although his future is a lot more perilous. Hart complements Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson perfectly. At their respective peaks, Ingram and Williamson will command most of the ball, meaning Hart essentially only has to defend and take open shots which is what he’s best at. If you add Ball to the equation, Hart is still a great fit because he can run in the open floor and station himself on the wings for spot-up threes.

The word that defines Hart’s NBA career until now is steadiness. You know what you’re going to get with him: tough defense, above-average rebounding, about a steal per game, and one or two threes per game. His stat sheet and role does not fluctuate, but that’s good when it comes to being a role player.

If we break down Hart’s current season into thirds, it’s the lack of difference that stands out, rather than any massive growth or decline. In his first eight games of the season, Hart scored about seven points, took about four threes at a 29 percent clip, took about two free throws, and snatched one offensive rebound.

In his second eight games, Hart scored about eight points, took a bit over three triples per game at a 42 percent clip, took 1.5 free throws, and snatched one offensive rebound.

Now, over his last eight games, he’s scoring about 11 points, taking about five threes per game at a 36 percent clip, taking about two free throws per game, and snatching 1.3 offensive rebounds. At first glance, that seems like a boost to his stats, but Hart’s numbers have been distorted by his outing against the Rockets. Remove New Orleans’ blowout win over Houston and his numbers are very similar.

My main takeaway from Hart’s numbers this season and throughout his career relates to his three-point shooting. For me, that’s the area that Hart really has to keep building on. He has always been a low volume shooter from beyond the arc, a number that I want to see go up.

Hart currently takes about four threes per game, less than someone like Eric Bledsoe. I want to see him eventually get to five or six attempts every night, closer to the figures than the likes of Robert Covington, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, and Danny Green.

Those are all wings commonly seen as championship-caliber role players, which is what I think Hart can eventually get to. He’ll never be the guy on a team, let alone even a third option, but he can be that oh-so-valuable “fifth starter” on a very good playoff team. The New Orleans Pelicans should look to keep Hart this summer because finding a suitable replacement for him might be harder than it seems.