Saturday is decision day for Josh Hart.
Hart has until 11:59 p.m. to opt out of his $12.9 million player option and explore free agency or return to the Knicks, for which he was a key trade-deadline addition to the franchise’s best season in a decade.
The overwhelming expectation is that the versatile wing will opt out with the hope of returning to the Knicks.
He has said as much on several occasions following the trade that reunited the former Villanova star with college teammate Jalen Brunson.
“We’ll probably decline [the option] and do the free agency [thing],” he said in a recent interview with Bleacher Report. “I love New York. I love the team. I love the coaching staff, the front office that we have, we have young guys, draft picks, all those sorts of things. I mean, obviously, that would be an ideal place for me to just re-sign there and do that.
“Everything’s perfect on the court, off the court, with family being close to home and all those kinds of things. So, fingers crossed that when free agency starts, I’ll say a deal will get done hopefully in the first day or two. I would love for that to be home.”
Hart is a CAA client, the agency with extremely close ties to the Knicks, an added wrinkle to the likelihood he will be back.
The Knicks used a first-round pick, along with Cam Reddish, Svi Mykhailiuk and Ryan Arcidiacono, to land him.
Portland used that pick (23rd overall) to draft Iowa forward Kris Murray on Thursday night.
Coach Tom Thibodeau regularly raved about the 28-year-old Hart, talking up his selflessness, rebounding fervor and defense-first mantra.
Upon acquiring him, the Knicks won nine straight games. Hart, a key part of the Knicks’ strong second unit, averaged 10.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 25 regular-season games, and notched 10.4 points per game in the playoffs.
His wife recently gave birth to twin boys.
“He’s an elite rebounder, but he’s a playmaker. And when I say playmaker, I’m not talking about in the sense of just by the pass,” Thibodeau said during the season. “If you need great defense, you need a loose ball, you need an offensive rebound, you need a shot, whatever it is that you need, he’ll provide it. He gets big rebounds late when the game is on the line, and in traffic. And he’s all about the team and all about winning.”
ESPN NBA insider and former Nets executive Bobby Marks believes that Hart could command up to $17 million per year on the open market, but also noted the possibility he could pick up his player option with the Knicks giving him an extension once he becomes eligible on Aug. 9.
The maximum they can offer him in that scenario is a four-year deal worth $81 million.
“For the Knicks’ sake, they’re hoping he opts in and you extend him,” Marks said.
The other notable move involving the Knicks is the status of veteran Derrick Rose.
The team has until 11:59 on Saturday to pick up his option, which is worth $15.6 million.
A Thibodeau favorite, the 34-year-old Rose fell out of the rotation in December and never really worked his way back into it.
The Knicks’ avenue to improving the roster this offseason is via trade since they have such little cap space.
By bringing back Rose, they could use his expiring contract in a potential deal to match up money.
But they also have Evan Fournier’s $18.8 million salary on the books that can be used for that.
That is the final guaranteed year of Fournier’s contract.
After the season ended in Miami, the benched Frenchman said he expected to be elsewhere next year.
