New Knick Hart ‘probably’ headed to free agency
Portland passed the decision on Josh Hart to the Knicks. Now Leon Rose has a few months to decide whether Hart is worth a long-term commitment.
Hart, the newly-acquired guard, can become a free agent after the season by declining his $13 million player option. And to hear his former superstar teammate explain why the Blazers traded him to New York, Hart is likely headed to free agency.
“Josh is a really good player so you have to know that he has an option, and he’s probably going to opt out of the deal that he has now,” Damian Lillard said, “and you have to assume he’s going to be wanted in the open market.
“And there’s a chance you lose a player like that if you’re not going to match that number.”
The Knicks didn’t relinquish a first-round pick to rent Hart for two months so the assumption is they’re willing to re-sign him. They should also benefit from open dialogue since Rose is Hart’s former agent at CAA, the agency that acts as the Knicks’ feeder system. The key is to not feel compelled to overpay because they’ve already surrendered a first-round pick.
For what it’s worth, Hart, 27, said he’s eager for stable employment in New York after a journeyman career.
“It’s definitely somewhere that I would definitely like to be,” said Hart, who debuted Saturday for the Knicks off the bench against the Jazz. “It’s my third time getting traded, sixth year in the league, fourth team, sixth head coach. It’s been a whirlwind. I didn’t think that was how my first six years were going to be, but I’m looking for a home, and I think this could be it.”
Hart has reasons to feel comfortable. The team president is his former agent. He was teammates with Julius Randle on the Lakers. He played with Jalen Brunson at Villanova. His game is appreciated by Tom Thibodeau, who will always find time for a player who rebounds and plays defense.
“I feel like that style fits every team, especially a New York team,” Hart said. “That’s what this city is about and what the city builds off of. I take that with pride. I’m just a blue collar guy; I think that’s really going to work well here.”
The red flag with Hart is the sudden dropoff in his 3-point shooting, which has fallen dramatically this season in volume and efficiency. Thibodeau dismissed the struggles as “the ups and downs” of the season, while Hart explained how he mitigates shooting slumps.
“I’m a dog, and I’m gonna bring that every night whether I’m making shots or I’m missing shots,” he said. “That’s my mentality. I’m a dog and I gotta go out there every night and prove it.”
The real proof will be on the court, and then in the free agency contract.