The inevitable became a reality on Thursday.
Josh Hart is back.
The hard-playing wing, a major factor in the Knicks’ best season in a decade upon his mid-February arrival, opted into his $12.9 player option, acording to multiple reports, after the player and the team agreed to extend last Saturday’s original deadline.
The move is hardly a surprise.
A fan favorite, Hart raved about his time as a Knick, and had made it abundantly clear he wanted to make New York his long-term home.
“I love New York. I love the team.” he said in a recent interview with Bleacher Report. “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.”
The expectation is the two sides will come to an agreement on a contract extension when Hart is eligible for one on Aug. 9, six months after he was acquired.
It is likely there were under-the-table talks about such a deal in the lead-up to the deadline. The max he can receive is a four-year, $81 million extension.
This move by Hart gives the Knicks freedom to add a rotation player, potentially Hart and Jalen Brunson’s Villanova teammate, Donte DiVincenzo, in free agency.
They now have the full $12.4 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception at their disposal.
The Knicks used a first-round pick, along with Cam Reddish, Svi Mykhailiuk and Ryan Arcidiacono, to land Hart. Portland drafted Iowa forward Kris Murray with that pick (23rd overall).
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.
During the regular season, the Knicks outscored the opposition by 11.9 points per 100 possessions when Hart was on the floor, by far the best figure on the team, and his 123.1 offensive rating was also No. 1.
“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.”
Hart had spent the first six years of his NBA career with four different franchises and was traded twice.
The day the Knicks were eliminated, his wife, Shannon Phillips, gave birth to twins.
Now, once August arrives, he almost certainly won’t have to worry about uprooting his family for several years.