6. Josh Hart- SG/SF
Svi Mykhailiuk was the biggest surprise of summer league, but Josh Hart was easily the best player on the team, as well as the best player in the tournament period. The second-year shooting guard ended up winning the Summer League MVP award, bringing the honor to Los Angeles for the second year in a row after Lonzo Ball received it last summer.
His performance in the tournament opened many non-Lakers fan’s eyes to the ability of Hart, despite the fact that he was facing off against players who may not be in the league come next season.
He showed much of the same ability he displayed throughout last season during the tournament, as well as some things we have yet to see from him. Whether it be because he did not have the opportunity last year or because he has improved in the months since the regular season concluded, Hart seems to have improved as a ball handler and shot creator– with his new pull up three point shot standing out the most.
Los Angeles Lakers
It is safe to assume these improvements will continue going into his second NBA season. But as of now, he is a very good shooter, shooting a 58.8 percent effective field goal percentage last season. In addition, he’s a solid on-ball defender, excelling when switched onto bigger players because of his strength, and above average rebounder, placing in the 75th and 95th percentile for offensive rebounding percentage and defensive rebounding percentage, per Cleaning the Glass.
Even if he does not improve whatsoever from who he was last season, which is very unlikely, he will be a very useful 3-and-D player for the team’s second unit. The most interesting scenario comes if he has indeed improved as a shot creator like we saw in Summer League.
If this is the case and his development is real, then the team will have a hard decision to make when it comes to who will be the team’s starting shooting guard.
As of now, it is Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s job to lose, but Hart is lurking on the horizon. Currently, they are two very similar players, with Caldwell-Pope being the better player, but not by much. It will not be shocking to see either of the two win the job in training camp. In the end, this is a great problem to have as the team may have two starting caliber shooting guards.