New Orleans Pelicans
The obvious choice for where Josh Hart will end up in free agency is New Orleans, especially since he is a restricted free agent. While they did draft Trey Murphy III and acquired Garrett Temple from the Bulls, the Pelicans could still utilize Josh Hart in their rotation either as their starting shooting guard, or as their sixth-man off-the-bench, the role he has held with New Orleans over the last two seasons.
Prior to suffering a torn UCL in his right thumb during the 2020-21 season, Josh Hart was having a very impressive year, averaging 9.2 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and shooting 32.6% from three-point range.
Again, he is not a guy that is going to be their best option on the floor, but you need reliable bench guys on your roster and Josh Hart is certainly that kind of guy.
The Pelicans already have 15 guys on their roster, but Wenyen Gabriel’s contract for next season is non-guaranteed and they could waive him with no penalty if New Orleans wanted to re-sign Josh Hart. With roughly $12M in cap space, the Pelicans definitely could give Josh Hart a long-term deal, but they could also agree to terms on his $5.24M qualifying offer that he still owns.
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If interest in Hart continues to be non-existent, him returning on a one-year deal or multi-year deal definitely seems plausible. Josh Hart is only 26-years-old and is only going to get better with time, which is why the Pelicans would be lucky to get him back at a cheap price.
