NBA Rumors: Executives estimate Knicks’ Josh Hart’s free agency contract
New York Knicks fans are locked in on the NBA Playoffs with the team in the Eastern Conference Semifinals for the first time in 10 years, but some attention should be placed on what could go down in free agency. The Knicks’ lone trade deadline acquisition is expected to decline his player option to sign a larger contract.
Josh Hart signed a three-year, $37.9 million contract with New Orleans during the 2021 offseason. He has a $12.96 player option for the 2023-24 season but is projected to sign a new contract that’s worth at least two million more than that annually.
According to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto, who spoke with four NBA executives, “Hart is now projected to be worth $15-$18 million annually in free agency this summer.” The executives added that the belief is that Hart will sign with the Knicks, which shouldn’t come as a surprise.
Knicks’ Josh Hart projected to sign $15-$18 million annual free agency contract
Since arriving in New York three months ago, Josh Hart has made it clear several times that he’d like to remain with the Knicks beyond the 2022-23 season. The impact that he’s had on the team in a short time has only given Leon Rose and the front office more motivation to get a new deal worked out with the 28-year-old this summer.
New York traded for Hart knowing that there was a strong possibility that he’d enter free agency during the offseason. A 2023 first-round pick was sent to Portland in the process as was Cam Reddish, who sat the bench for his final couple of months in New York. It was a move that has already paid off big-time for the Knicks.
Hart’s been able to be reunited with his Villanova teammate Jalen Brunson. That duo is what helped secure the Knicks’ Game 2 win over the Heat down the stretch. Fans are hoping that they’ll get to see those two hang around New York for a while, and that should be what happens.
