Josh Hart signs four-year extension with Knicks
New York Knicks guard Josh Hart has signed a four-year, $81 million extension with the organization, ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski was first to report Wednesday.
Hart, 28, was originally acquired by the Knicks less than 24 hours ahead of the 2023 NBA Trade Deadline from the Portland Trail Blazers as part of a four-team trade that sent Ryan Arcidiacono, Cam Reddish, Ante Tomic and a 2023 first-round pick (eventually Kris Murray) to Portland.
Hart was entering the final year of his three-year, $37.9 million contract he signed ahead of the 2021-22 season, opting into his $12.96MM player option ahead of free agency. With the new CBA rules regarding player extensions, Hart was eligible for an $81.3 million extension this offseason beginning at $18.1 million.
His new extension will not begin until the 2024-25 season, effectively meaning he will earn $95 million over the next five seasons.
Now, he–along with Jalen Brunson and Donte DiVincenzo, who signed a four-year deal with New York this offseason–will all be under contract through the 2025-26 season (the last year of Brunson’s current four-year deal).
The 6-foot-5 Swiss Army Knife is the perfect player for head coach Tom Thibodeau because of his blue-collar nature. He averaged 9.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.8 steals and 1.4 steals in 25 games with New York last season, shooting 58.6 percent from the floor, 51.9 percent from deep (2.1 attempts) and 78.9 percent from the free-throw line.
Hart has logged six NBA seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, New Orleans Pelicans, Portland Trail Blazers and Knicks, averaging 9.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists and one steal on 46.5/35.0/74.1 shooting splits (58.3 true-shooting percentage) in 372 career games (170 starts).
This is a breaking news story. Stay tuned for updates.
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