Pelicans: Pros and cons of a sign-and-trade of Josh Hart for Buddy Hield
Pelicans: Losing Josh Hart could make the Pels even worse defensively
Con: Josh Hart was probably the Pelicans’ best defender last season, which is not saying much, as they were pretty much terrible as a team and didn’t really have any great individual defenders.
Losing Hart could take a toll on the defense, but considering how bad they have been for the last two seasons, would anyone really notice?
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Hield is not good defensively, that is true, but it’s not like the Pels were lights out with Hart or that he was an elite defender, because he wasn’t.
He is an elite rebounder, which does help the Pelicans close out defensive possessions, so in that regard, losing him would hurt the Pels.
But with Trey Murphy III, Naji Marshall and Herbert Jones now coming off the Pels’ bench, the loss of Hart might not even be felt and the Pels could actually be better on defense.
Marshall looked fantastic in the first Summer League game and is probably ready to take over the role of hustle/defense/rebounder off the bench for the Pels.
While Hart may be a better defender individually, he’s not so good that he would offset his limitations on offense, nor what Buddy Hield would ultimately bring to that end.
I’m not really sure this one really is a con to be honest.