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Hart Details Offseason Plan, Progress

Josh Hart finished his rookie year by scoring at least 20 points in his final four games, including a 30-point finale in a win over the Clippers behind seven three pointers that brought his percentage from deep up to 39.6 on the season, good enough to lead the Lakers for the season.

The 30th overall pick in the first round started the season slowly, but really flexed his muscles as a starter as the season rolled on, averaging 13.3 points with 6.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steals on 49.6 percent from the field and 42.2 percent from three in 22 games.

His performance had people around the NBA realizing that Hart is more than a “3 and D” guy that most teams would have loved to have gotten with the last pick in the first round, and had the Lakers feeling pretty good that he’s on their roster.

We sat down with Hart to see what he’s been focusing on since the season ended in advance of the team’s upcoming summer games in Sacramento and Las Vegas:

MT: I talked to Miles Simon a few weeks ago about the offseason plan for you, and wanted to check in to see how it’s going from your perspective?
Hart: I think my handle has gotten better. I’m more comfortable with the ball, for pick-and-roll scenarios and things like that. My jump shot is more fluid; more like one motion. Those are the two main things I’ve been working on, and I feel I’ve already improved since the (end of the season).

MT: Part of what Miles mentioned towards working with the handle is the coaching staff wanting to green light you to bring the ball up in transition, in part because of your ability as a rebounding guard.
Hart: Yeah, for a guard I just try to go out there and help my bigs out as much as I can on the glass. I think it gives the team another dimension when you have a guard that can rebound well and can push it, and find easy buckets that way. You don’t have to always get into the halfcourt and try to grind it out. Especially since we’re young and we still have to work on our attention to detail and execution with certain things, being able to get easy buckets always helps.

MT: How are you gauging how much work to put in vs. getting your body to rest during the offseason?
Hart: I’ll usually be in here at the facility for three to four hours per day, just lifting, working out, getting shots up. And then it’s just rest. Some days, I may go play pick up, but I try to get that rest, just because I’m working towards Summer League and the beginning of the season but I don’t want to be burnt out in July. Especially this being my first NBA offseason, it’s about trying to find out the balance between getting my work in and also letting my body recover.

MT: How about finding the balance between playing 5-on-5 and doing individual work?
Hart: I’ve been talking to Miles (Simon), and a lot of the stuff I’ve been doing here has been 1-on-1 or 1-on-0 type things. But I started playing some 5-on-5 earlier last week, and then we talked about some days not coming in here but going to play 5-on-5 somewhere else instead like UCLA. Basically, using 5-on-5 to actually work on those instincts and that kind of thing. But after summer league is when those kind of (games) really start picking up. Guys are resting, or are home now. End of July and August, a lot of (NBA players) are out here in Los Angeles.

MT: Looking back to your rookie year, I thought the Cleveland game in December was really big for you, getting a double-double in your first start after struggling to some degree in the first few months. Was it good for you to put a game like that on tape from a confidence standpoint?
Hart: Yeah, that game was big for me. I remember after the game, I (got a ride home) from Larry (Nance, Jr.) once we landed because one of my friends was using my car. Larry asked me how it felt, and I thought it was bittersweet, because we lost the game where we could have won but we were just young. And I hate losing. But it was also my first start, and I had the double-double against Cleveland, who had the best player in the world (LeBron James), plus D-Wade, my favorite player growing up. That was a big turning point for me confidence wise and knowing that I can play in this league, and I can compete with these guys.

MT: Sometimes, as a young player’s playing time goes up, his efficiency goes down, but that didn’t happen for you. You shot the ball really well late in the season to finish at 39.6 percent from three and 46.9 percent overall. Did that help keep your confidence high and impact what you were thinking while watching the playoffs?
Hart: Definitely. I was texting Rob Pelinka for half of the playoff games, just talking, ‘We gotta get here!’ You can just tell watching on TV the atmosphere and the adversity and attention to detail is totally different. It’s not like the regular season. As a competitor, you want to play and thrive in that. Watching those games, I felt like I could make a difference in certain games. In the defensive end, on the glass, being able to make shots and get into the paint.

MT: One thing that’s becoming more clear is how important versatility is for teams, and the value of being able to defend multiple positions, in addition to not having a clear weakness teams can expose. Seems like your game fits into that.
Hart: Definitely. Being able to do well on offense but also be able to be versatile enough to guard several positions helps especially in this day and age and how the game has been the last couple of years. Having guys that aren’t liabilities on either end. Being able to put the ball in the basket on offense. How this game is going is smaller, more shooting, switching 1 through 5. When you have guards that can rebound and defend 4’s and 5’s, and on the flip side guys like Kuz (Kyle Kuzma) or Julius (Randle) guarding 1’s and 2’s, it gives your team and your defense another dimension.

MT: You mentioned you texted GM Rob Pelinka a lot during the playoffs…
Hart: Yeah, I was talking to Rob all the time. Obviously we have a good relationship. He won a national championship at Michigan as a player and was on the (Fab Five) team. Being in the same spot in college, winning a national championship and having that mindset, we talked about that all throughout the playoffs. Just getting there, the attention to detail these guys have, and that kind of thing. And I know from talking to Kuz that he and Rob talked a lot about it too. That’s the culture we want here and we’re trying to build.

MT: For those that don’t know, what’s the relationship like between you and your young teammates when you’re off social media?
Hart: We’re all cool. I’m like the elder statesman. Some of it is the youngness of it, but we’re all cool. There’s no problems with us. That’s the biggest thing. It seems like people on the outside are asking if there’s something going on between us, but nah. Nothing stupid or childish is going to mess with the culture we’re trying to build and the winning mentality we’re trying to have.

MT: What’s it like being on a team heading into the NBA Draft?
Hart: It’s totally different. Right now, I’m the only shooting guard on the roster, so if we had a game tomorrow, I’d probably be starting. But me and Kuz probably watched 75 percent of the draft workouts, and then you have free agency starting July 1, and you just never know until you know. Last year, in Vegas, I remember me and Jordan Clarkson were the shooting guards on the roster, and then we signed KCP. So even after the Draft, you know you have certain needs. I’m very anxious to see what we do and the moves we make.

Obviously I want to be a starter in this league, but I can’t control who signs here in free agency. If we signed (a star), I’m not going to (make an issue of) my coming off the bench. Sure, there’s a self-interest aspect of it, but for me, the culture I’ve been around since I was in high school has always been about winning and being about team first. So when you want to win, you have to sacrifice some of your own self-interest for the better of the team. That’s how I’m going about it. I want to win and be a part of a championship team, so whatever we can do to make that happen, I’m all for, even if I have to give up something.

MT: Last thing that’s random off your Instagram feed … did I notice one of your dogs tore up an expensive bag?
Hart: Oh man, King? He messes up everything. My Louis Vuitton bag. A pair of Maison Margiela shoes. Countless controllers. Hats.

MT: Wait, video game controllers? Huh?
Hart: Oh yeah. You know on the back part, where you hold the handles, are not foam but softer cushioned padding things? He chewed them up. This dog cost me so much money already, and it isn’t even mine, it’s my brother’s!