The Pelicans are closing in on a three-year contract agreement with guard/forward Josh Hart, agents Aaron Mintz, Steven Heumann and Dave Spahn told Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Hart is a restricted free agent and had been linked to the Cavaliers, Kings and several others as a sign-and-trade candidate. But it appears he is sticking with New Orleans, and vice versa.
The deal is expected to be worth $38 million, Wojnarowski reported. “New Orleans had Hart’s Bird rights, so no cap room maneuvering or exceptions are necessary to make the deal work,” wrote Alex Kirschenbaum of Hoops Rumors.
Hart, 26, is 6-foot-5 and averaged 9.2 points and a career-high 8.0 rebounds in 47 games last season.
He was selected with the No. 30 pick out of Villanova in 2017, and spent his first two seasons with the Lakers. Along with Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram, Hart was part of LA’s trade package to land star forward/center Anthony Davis from New Orleans.
“Hart will be the Pelicans’ 15th player on a guaranteed contract, which means that power forward Wenyen Gabriel, currently on a non-guaranteed $1,762,796 contract for the 2021/22 season, looks like the odd man out,” Kirschenbaum wrote.
Hart will now be part of a backcourt that also includes the likes of Devonte’ Graham, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Kira Lewis Jr., Trey Murphy III, Tomas Satoransky and Garrett Temple. He will also spent plenty of time backing up Ingram.
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