When the New York Knicks acquired veteran wing Josh Hart in a trade with the Portland Trail Blazers back in February they had to know it might be a rental.
The 28-year-old Hart has vastly outplayed his current three-year, $37.92 million contract. Said deal includes a player option of $12.96 million for the 2023-24 season. With NBA free agency officially opening in roughly a month, Hart has made a decision on that option.
“We’ll probably decline that (option) and do the free agency thing,” Josh Hart told Taylor Rooks of Bleacher Report.
Hart performed extremely well in 25 regular-season games after being acquired from Portland. The former first-round pick out of Villanova averaged 10.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.4 steals while shooting 59% from the field. It’s darn clear that he’s worth much more than the roughly $13 million the wing is set to earn under his player option in 2023-24.
None of this means that Hart will not re-sign with the Knicks.
“I love New York. I love the team,” Hart told Rooks. “I love the coaching staff and the front office that we have. Obviously, that would be an ideal place for me, to just re-sign there. Everything’s perfect off the court and on the court.”
New York is projected to be roughly $5 million over the NBA salary cap. The team can still go over said cap to re-sign Hart. At this point, it makes perfect sense given what he brings to the table on both ends of the court.
- Josh Hart stats (2017-23): 9.8 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 2.4 APG, 47% shooting, 35% 3-point
No one is going to mistake Hart for a star. But it’s clear he had a major impact on what the Knicks were able to do following that Feb. 9 trade.
New York posted an 18-7 record in the 25 regular-season games Hart suited up in. He also played a major role in the team’s run to the Eastern Conference Semifinals by averaging 10.4 points and 7.4 rebounds in 11 games.
The only question here is the type of market Josh Hart will receive once NBA free agency opens. He’s likely looking at up to $18 million annually on a long-term deal.