Tag: Josh Hart

Jeanie Buss excited, happy to see Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart succeed in New Orleans

During a recent Q&A session, Lakers owner Jeanie Buss spoke about the former Lakers are her excitement in seeing them thrive.

The Anthony Davis-Lakers trade will likely go down as one of the biggest blockbusters deals in NBA history. The true scope of the deal won’t fully be realized until the Pelicans exhaust the draft capital gained along with the players acquired in the deal by New Orleans.

But it’s the play of those players acquired by the Pelicans that makes the deal fascinating. While the Lakers are expectedly getting a superstar-level season out of Davis, the Pelicans have seen all three of Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart thrive.

Ingram reached the All-Star game for his first time while both Ball and Hart are enjoying career-best seasons in New Orleans.

During a recent Q&A session, Lakers owner Jeanie Buss spoke about the former Lakers are her excitement in seeing them thrive.

Last night we played in New Orleans and we saw Lonzo Ball, we saw Brandon Ingram, we saw Josh Hart and we miss them. But aren’t you excited to see their growth and see them playing well and thriving. But as we say, in order to get a great talent like Anthony Davis, you have to give up something great. While we miss them, we’re happy to see them thriving and doing well.

It’s not surprising to hear Buss express joy and excitement in seeing the former Lakers do well in their new homes. While all trades are met with a certain form of bitterness in the moment, there were no hard feelings from either side after the deal.

Both Ingram and Hart talked about their time in Los Angeles earlier this season with both expressing gratitude and appreciation for the Lakers giving them their starts to their careers.

Fortunately for both sides, in the early months after the trade, it appears to be set up to be a win-win deal for the two teams and a positive for all parties involved.

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Rihanna asks ‘did anybody check on’ Josh Hart after epic LeBron dunk

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James had an amazing dunk on Tuesday and Rihanna was worried about the player he dunked on.

LeBron James is sitting out for tonight’s Los Angeles Lakers game against the Golden State Warriors after he had his best performance of the season, scoring 40 points in a thrilling win on Tuesday over the New Orleans Pelicans. Among the many highlights that LeBron provided in the matchup against Zion Williamson was a dunk on his former Lakers teammate, Josh Hart.

James loved the dunk on Hart so much that he shared it on his Instagram on Monday and the poster-moment got a lot of comments on his page. The most notable one came from a well-documented LeBron fan, Rihanna, who clowned Hart after the play.

Rihanna asked in the comments, “did anybody check on Hart?” Her comment currently has over 16k likes.

Rihanna has always been a big fan of LeBron, cheering him on during NBA Finals games at Oracle Arena during his Cavs matchups with the Warriors last decade.

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Look out Vikings: NBA player Josh Hart is trying to recruit Stefon Diggs to the Redskins

Uh oh.

Stefon Diggs’ social media presence on Twitter and Instagram has led to some Vikings fans being worried that he might want out.

When it comes to other teams’ fans, they’re thinking that Diggs could be a trade option for their team.

Pelicans guard Josh Hart is one of those fans. A native of Silver Spring, Maryland, Hart replied to a Diggs tweet by saying “Come on home bro #HTTR.” (H/T NBC Sports)

What started the Twitter thread was news that the Redskins’ Jordan Reed was released. Dwayne Haskins replied to the tweet with a single-tear sad emoji, and Diggs replied “Not my dawg j reed…” with that very same emoji written afterwards.

HTTR means Hail to the Redskins, so it’s safe to say that Hart hopes Diggs lands in Washington. Sure, the social media presence has been concerning, but a Diggs trade is still really hard to work out, and at least the New Orleans NBA player isn’t recruiting Diggs to go to the Saints. That would be harder to handle.

Josh Hart was hilariously left hanging again by Zion Williamson

For the second time this season, Hart failed to connect with Williamson on a high-five attempt.

Over the first three years of his NBA career, Josh Hart has notoriously struggled at receiving high-fives from his teammates. From LeBron James to Kyle Kuzma, Hart hasn’t fared well.

Those issues also followed Hart over to the New Orleans Pelicans.

Hart saw his struggles resurface during the preseason after he was left hanging by Zion Williamson. Hart approached Williamson to celebrate a dunk, to which the No. 1 overall pick completely ignored him.

On Thursday, Hart once again failed to connect on a high-five. Williamson drew a foul against Chris Paul and Hart, being the good teammate he is, went over to Williamson to celebrate but was unsuccessful.

Eventually, Hart will figure out his high-five woes and put it all behind him. However, that doesn’t appear to be happening anytime soon after what occurred on Thursday night.

Williamson had 23 points while Hart had seven through three-quarters of action against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

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LOOK: Lonzo Ball honors Kobe, Gianna Bryant with messages on shoes

Lonzo Ball honored the passing of Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna Bryant with messages on his shoes for Sunday’s game against the Celtics.

Like many around the league, Lonzo Ball honored Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna prior to the Pelicans’ game Sunday evening. With news breaking just hours before the game, the Pelicans put together a handful of tributes to Bryant.

First, the team opted, as a group, to wear Kobe shoes during the pre-game introductions and during the team’s moment of silence. At the start of the game, the Pelicans and Celtics each took 24-second shot clock violations in honor of Bryant’s No. 24 jersey.

Prior to that, though, the players took the court for their pre-game warmups. It was there that Ball’s shoes were seen publicly for the first time. A constant wearer of Kobe shoes, Sunday’s version had notable modifications.

One shoe read “RIP Gianna” with an “8 24” beside it, signifying Bryant’s two jersey numbers in his career. The other shoe read “RIP Kobe.”

Josh Hart also honored Bryant with a message on his shoe stating “Legends live forever” in reference to Bryant.

As for Ball, growing up in Los Angeles during Bryant’s career led to him being inspired and motivated by the Black Mamba. An active follower of the Lakers in his years after retiring, Bryant talked about passing the torch to LeBron James and Lonzo Ball heading into last season.

Bryant’s passing will obviously leave a big hole in not only players born and raised in California but to the NBA as a whole.

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Jrue Holiday says Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart ‘did a great job’ in return to Los Angeles

The trio of Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart and Brandon Ingram return to Los Angeles on Friday and handled it well, according to teammate Jrue Holiday.

The trio of Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart and Lonzo Ball made their return to face the Lakers in Los Angeles for the first time since being dealt to the Pelicans this spring. While New Orleans lost the contest, poetically due to a huge night from Anthony Davis, the former Baby Lakers held their own on the night.

The night was also made more memorable for the new Pelicans by a tribute video played by the Lakers between the first and second quarter. After the contest, Pelican guard Jrue Holiday talked about how the former Lakers handled the return to Los Angeles and the decision by the Lakers to honor the players with the video.

“I think they did a great job, honestly. It’s cool that they gave them a little bit of recognition. I feel like when you start off with an organization from 19, 20 years old, it means a lot to be there and the imprint that you have there and the imprint the organization had on the player. Just to come back here and perform, they did a great job.”

Statistically, the trio played well on the night. Ball led the team in scoring with 23 points, Ingram was right behind with 22 points and Hart finished with a team-best plus-minus of +15 off the bench.

It was certainly an emotional night on some level for the three for many of the reasons mentioned by Holiday. While some may criticize the Lakers’ decision to play a tribute video, it resonates with the players. In that regard, it was a great move for the Lakers.

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LeBron James jokes Lakers gave up ‘too much’ for Anthony Davis after win over Pelicans

LeBron James didn’t have any problem calling out critics of the Los Angeles Lakers trade fro Anthony Davis after beating his former team.

LeBron James was in a mood to be petty after another monstrous performance from Anthony Davis over Davis’ former squad, the New Orleans Pelicans. While it seems almost silly now that the Los Angeles Lakers are a Western Conference-leading 28-7, it wasn’t an uncommon assessment that the Lakers gave up far too much for Anthony Davis. James took aim at those who suggested as such on the night that the Lakers played the players they gave up in the trade for Davis in Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart.

While the former in Ingram and Ball had solid performances, it didn’t matter as the Lakers were head and shoulders above the Pelicans in large part because of Davis’ 46 points. After the game, LeBron made sure to point out how different Davis is and the price of the three players, as well as the future draft picks and pick swaps, was more than worth bringing in an MVP-level player in Davis.

The Lakers have looked excellent over the last few games and have driven up high leads over their last two games but have also let their opponents back in it as their bench has been unable to sustain the leads often created by James and Davis.

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WATCH: Lakers play tribute video for Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart

The Los Angeles Lakers played a tribute video for Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart in their first return to LA to face the Lakers.

In their first trip back to Staples Center against the Lakers on Friday, the Los Angeles Lakers played a tribute video for the trio. All three players were drafted by the Lakers and once were seen as the future of the franchise. However, all three would eventually be dealt in the spring in a deal that landed the Lakers Anthony Davis.

After the first quarter on Friday, the Lakers played the tribute video for the trio, showing them being drafted and playing in the purple and gold.

It was a nice, heartfelt touch from the Lakers that certainly wasn’t expected nor necessary. When introduced in the starting lineup earlier in the night, both Ball and Ingram received loud cheers from the fans.

During shootaround on Friday, both Ball and Hart expressed excitement to return to Staples Center.

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Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart excited for return to L.A. against Lakers

In their first return to Staples to play the Lakers, Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart both expressed excitement to be back in Los Angeles.

For the first time since being traded from the franchise in June, the former Baby Lakers in Josh Hart, Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball will return to meet the Lakers in Staples Center on Friday. During shootaround on Friday morning, Ingram spoke about matching up with the Lakers.

“It brings back some good memories. That’s the team that drafted me, made my dreams come true. I remember my draft class and every player that came through here. It was some enjoyable times.”

Hart also looked back fondly on his time in Los Angeles while also wondering what could have been last season.

“We had a lot of fun. I think a lot of guys wonder if we didn’t have the injuries last year (during Los Angeles’ first season with LeBron James), what we could’ve done. But it’s always love with the (former Lakers players) and L.A. It was so much fun, the two years I had here. Those times are behind me, so I’ve got to look forward. But it was a great time.”

Injuries ravaged the Lakers last year, leading to a disappointing finish that included a failure to make the playoffs. The trio of young prospects were dealt not many months later for Anthony Davis and, along with LeBron James, the Lakers sit atop the Western Conference.

The trade, though, also worked out for the New Orleans-based former Lakers. Ingram is in the midst of a breakout season, averaging 25.3 points per game this season. Now healthy, Ball has flourished, highlighted by a triple-double in his latest outing. Hart is also averaging a career-high in points at 10.9 per game while seeing a rise in his three-point shooting from last season.

It’s a deal that worked out for all parties (at least so far) and it’s nice to see no animosity held between the players and their former franchise.

WATCH: Lonzo Ball involved in controversial end-of-regulation play vs. Nets

In attempting to snap their 12-game losing streak on Tuesday, the Pelicans were involved in a controversial end-of-regulation sequence against the Brooklyn Nets.

The New Orleans Pelicans nearly snapped their 12-game losing streak on Tuesday before falling in overtime to the Brooklyn Nets, 108-101. However, the game could have ended in regulation if not for an egregious error from the referees.

Late in regulation, the game clock and shot clock were separated by only a few seconds. Spencer Dinwiddie hoisted a long three-pointer that only hit the backboard as the shot clock expired. Amid confusion on the court, Lonzo Ball corralled the rebound and threw an outlet pass to Josh Hart whose shot did not beat the buzzer.

However, upon replay, it was clear that the ball had not touched the rim and the Pelicans, who had a timeout, should have had possession of the ball at midcourt with a handful of seconds remaining and a chance to win the game.

Here is a video of the sequence:

The refs ruled the ball hit the rim, there was no shot clock violation and that the play wasn’t reviewable. After the game, Alvin Gentry pointed out that he and his staff argued their point with the officials to no avail.

On Wednesday, the Last 2 Minute report confirmed what everyone else knew, calling the missed call an incorrect non-call with the following explanation:

Dinwiddie’s (BKN) shot attempt does not make contact with the rim, and a 24 second violation should have been called.

For a team mired in a now 13-game losing streak following the loss, it’s a particularly frustrating and stinging loss following a night when the team actually executed down the stretch.