Josh Hart

Hart stepped into the biggest role of his career last season, thanks, in part, to the Pelicans' sign-and-trade of Lonzo Ball and the failure to secure great backcourt replacements. Zion Williamson's full-season absence also opened up 30-plus minutes on the wing, and Brandon Ingram appeared in just 55 games. In Hart's 41 appearances (40 starts) with New Orleans, he averaged 13.4 points on 51/32/75 shooting, 7.8 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.1 steals in 33.5 minutes. Despite the 27-year-old's impressive development, he was traded at the deadline to bring in CJ McCollum from Portland. The Trail Blazers were tanking, allowing Hart to see plenty of minutes and usage. Over his 13 appearances (all starts) with his new team, he averaged 19.9 points on 50/37/77 shooting, 5.4 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.2 steals in 32.1 minutes - by far the biggest role of his career. The overall result of Hart's production was him ranking 67th in per-game fantasy value - a huge leap from his previous high of rank 131. This year, he'll have another chance to play a significant role for the Blazers, given his multi-position versatility and lack of roster depth. However, he won't be posting numbers like he did at the end of last season. Damian Lillard, Anfernee Simons, Jerami Grant and Jusuf Nurkic will all sit above him on the offensive totem pole. There's still a strong chance Hart sees 30-plus minutes and stuffs the stat sheet, but it will probably look more like his New Orleans production. Either way, fantasy managers should feel comfortable selecting Hart inside the top 100 given what he displayed in 2021-22.

Hart appeared in just 47 games due to a variety of injuries last season, but he put together another solid season as the Pelicans' unique sixth man. In 28.7 minutes per game, he averaged 9.2 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists, which led to a per-game fantasy rank of 143. Hart's impressive rebounding for a 6-foot-5 guard is carrying his fantasy value, as the rest of his game leaves something to be desired. He's a low-volume, relatively inefficient scorer (splits of 44/33/78) who doesn't provide significant defensive stats. Hart has stronger real-life value as a utility player who can play upwards of four positions in certain situations. For all his flaws, the Pelicans committed a three-year, $38 million contract to him during the offseason, suggesting the organization believes in the 26-year-old's potential and that he should continue seeing minutes in the high-20s. Fantasy managers in standard leagues can probably ignore Hart, but there's reason to explore rostering him in deep leagues and keeper/dynasty formats. However, keep in mind that he has a relatively low ceiling given his current situation. He'll never be taking the ball out of the hands of Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, Devonte' Graham or even Jonas Valanciunas. A best-case scenario for Hart (not counting injuries to players ahead of him) is developing into a better three-point shooter.

Hart enjoyed modest production as a role player in his first two seasons with the Lakers, but he took on an expanded role in his first year with New Orleans. The third-year wing averaged 10.1 points, 6.5 boards, 1.9 threes, 1.7 assists and 1.0 steals per contest. These were all career-best numbers as Hart found success with his new team. He shot 42.3 percent from the field, 73.9 percent from the free-throw line and 34.2 percent from three. He got some action as a starter, and in 16 starts, Hart boosted his averages to 12.3 points and 7.1 boards. An above-average rebounder as a wing, he posted 10 double-doubles on the season. Hart's increased run came at the expense of JJ Redick, Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson, who were all forced to miss time throughout the season. If those three players can stay on the court more in 2020-21, Hart's playing time will likely take a hit, as will his scoring and particularly his rebounding. He could continue to see minutes in the mid-20's off the bench, but a healthy starting five limits Hart's upside.

Hart was a complementary component of the offseason blockbuster trade with the Lakers that also saw Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram land in New Orleans. Hart's outlook for the coming season is decidedly murkier than that of his pair of teammates. To begin with, he's recovering from late-March right patellar tendon surgery as training camp approaches. Additionally, the third-year pro is somewhat buried on the depth chart at the three spots he's projected for potential time in -- point guard, shooting guard and small forward. Hart does bring plenty of experience for a player with a relatively brief professional tenure, as he logged four full college seasons at Villanova before averaging over 20 minutes per contest over his first two pro campaigns in Los Angeles. A smooth shooter during the majority of that span, Hart disappointingly saw his overall success rate from the field tumble to 40.7 percent last season, although he maintained a respectable 33.6 percent mark from three-point range. The 24-year-old is also a solid rebounder, serviceable distributor and pesky defender, so he's capable of rewarding fantasy managers with contributions in multiple categories. If he can prove his health and fit into a fast-paced Pelicans system that's similar to the one he played in with the Lakers, Hart should certainly be able to progressively carve out a solid second-unit role. However, it remains to be seen if he can approximate the 25.6 minutes he logged over 67 games prior to his injury last season with New Orleans arguably sporting a deeper overall depth chart at the positions Hart is capable of filling.

Hart, after four seasons at Villanova, was the 30th overall pick in last year’s draft. During his senior campaign, he was given the Julius Erving (Best Small Forward) Award, averaging 18.7 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.6 steals. He also flashed impressive range, hitting 2.1 threes per tilt at 40.4 percent. Hart posted 7.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists per contest for the Lakers during his rookie campaign, but was especially impressive towards the end of the year. During his final 18 appearances (13 starts), he averaged 14.1 points (50.6 FG%, 44.0 3P%), 7.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.0 steal across 33.3 minutes -- showing off the potential he demonstrated in college. However, he was given that workload largely due to a myriad of injuries on the Lakers. That factor, combined with LeBron James (plus other veterans) joining the team, could result in Hart trending closer to 20 minutes per game rather than 30. Assuming that’s the case, the second-year man can probably be avoided in most standard Fantasy formats.

After leading Villanova to a national title the year before, Hart had an impressive follow-up campaign with the Wildcats as a senior, averaging 18.9 points and 6.4 rebounds per game while shooting above 40 percent from 3-point range for the second time in his college career. That production was enough to keep him in the first round of the 2017 NBA Draft, with the Jazz selecting the shooting guard with the 30th overall pick before trading him to the Lakers. Hart was limited to just two appearances in the Las Vegas Summer League due to an ankle sprain, but he should be back to full health by the time training camp rolls around. While Hart will be given a chance to compete for a rotation spot in the preseason, he'll likely find himself behind at least Lonzo Ball, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Jordan Clarkson on the depth chart right away, making it more likely than not that the 22-year-old rides the bench early on as a professional in between stints with the G League's South Bay Lakers.