The New Orleans Pelicans have had a pretty quiet offseason.
Over the past few months, many big names have moved, including Kyle Lowry, Russell Westbrook, DeMar DeRozan, and a whole lot more.
Through it all, the Pels have failed to move the needle, losing their starting point guard Lonzo Ball, veteran center Steven Adams, and Eric Bledsoe.
Still, at least they can say they kept two-way wing, Josh Hart, who recently agreed to a three-year deal to stay with the franchise.
Restricted free agent G Josh Hart is closing in on a three-year, $38 million deal to stay with the New Orleans Pelicans, his agents Aaron Mintz, Steven Heumann and Dave Spahn of @CAA_Basketball tell ESPN.
Despite questions about his future and the belief that he wanted out of NOLA, the guy seemed pretty happy about sticking around.
Here was his reaction, which he posted to Twitter:
❤️💙💛
— Josh Hart (@joshhart) August 16, 2021
— Josh Hart (@joshhart) August 16, 2021
Overall, it’s hard to say that New Orleans got better They lost a lot of contributors and did not get all that much in return.
Speaking on his podcast, NBA analyst Zach Lowe referred to the Pelicans as one of free agency’s biggest losers.
“Pelicans have to be one of the big losers in FA. Gave up 2 picks to not get Lowry. Traded a 1st round pick + Lonzo for Graham, Satoransky, and Temple. To give up 3 picks and lose the best player in Lonzo… boy oh boy… it’s hard to look at this series of events and feel good about NOLA,” Lowe said.
Considering their current situation, re-signing Hart was important for the Pels to keep morale high and ensure their bench unit remained somewhat potent for the season ahead.
The question is, will it be enough for the Pelicans to show serious improvement? The team goes as far as Zion takes them, but Zion alone will not make them contenders in the deep and talented West. With no true co-star, it will be up to Williamson to put the team on his back and demonstrate they can compete with some more help. Keeping a guy like Josh Hart is a great place to start.
The former Villanova product, 26, averaged 9.2 points, 8 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game on 43.9% shooting last season.
