New Orleans Pelicans: How will injury affect Josh Hart’s free agency?

New Orleans Pelicans: Josh Hart’s injury and free agency

Josh Hart’s injury is to his thumb and even though it is serious, it is not expected to be something that will threaten his career.

The way Hart has shot this season, he may not even need a thumb, as his shot has declined as his rebounding and defense have gotten better.

Hart uses his athleticism and hustle to make an impact, so it’s not like a knee or foot injury that could slow him down, so I can’t see an injured thumb being the thing that keeps teams away from Hart.

That being said, the New Orleans Pelicans will still have the inside route to re-sign him if that is in their plans.

They own his Bird Rights, so will be able to offer more than any other team, but question is whether they will want to.

Hart has proven himself to be one of, if not the best rebounding guards in the NBA, pulling down eight per game, best of his career.

But he has also struggled shooting from long-range, dropping to 32.6 percent, worst of his career.

Do the Pelicans value his defense, hustle and intangibles more than they need shooting? The answer should be yes, as they have the 29th ranked defense in the league and have no problem scoring the ball, so guys like Hart are exactly what they need to put around Zion Williamson.

Hart’s injury could hurt his value some on the open market, but it’s more likely that the abundance of available shooting guards will be a bigger factor in the Pelicans’ chances of re-signing him.