Knicks Retain Josh Hart for the Long Haul

New York Ensures Their "Hart" Will Go On With His Fellow Villanova Buddies as an Extension is Agreed On While Hart is With Team USA

It was no surprise. We all knew this was coming. The questions were something like this:

How many years will it be?

Will it be for the maximum he can get?

Are there any options?

Are there incentives?

Will he sign it—or at least agree to sign—on the first day of eligibility?

We know for sure that it is 4 years and that he agreed on it today, August 9th, which was the first day it was available to him due to his option he picked up back on the eve of free agency. According to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News, it was expected Hart would get 4 years and approximately 75 million tacked onto his 2023-24 salary of $12.9 million. The news that broke today from Woj referenced 4 years, for $81 million. According to Yahoo Sports, this 81 million was the maximum Hart could get due to previous salary, years in the league, etc.

The remaining question this author has is about the $75 million versus $81 million. Maybe seems trivial, but the Knicks cap specialist Brock Aller is known for shrewd deals and quirky incentives.

My speculation (no sources at all) is this deal has incentives in it that are unlikely and will actually wind up closer to $75 million over the 2024-25 through the 2027-28 seasons, and could have an option on that last year as a final favor to Hart. This would aid in freeing him up to sign perhaps one last notable deal as he begins to exit his prime at age 31 in 2026-27 or age 32 in 2027-28. Again, that’s all speculation, but Aller has routinely utilized incentives (Barrett extension), descending contracts (Robinson and Brunson), and interesting draft moves (acquiring Ed Davis from Utah in a salary dump, with two 2nd round picks, then flipping Davis for another pick days later). So nothing about this contract should surprise.

The scuttlebutt from some Knicks fans and social media will be it was an overpay for a guard who doesn’t prefer to shoot—especially from distance. However, the counter to this argument is that Hart is the team’s 7th man, and will be paid as essentially a starter, and in two years when the luxury tax line approaches $180 million, will only cost about 1/9 of that summed portion. Given the copious amounts of money thrown around this offseason (Dillon Brooks 4/$80 million, Jerami Grant 5/$160 million, Isiah Stewart 4/$64 million, etc), paying the best rebounding guard in the league to stick around is a no-brainer to me. He will also be relied upon to guard the primary or secondary perimeter threat on the opposing team, as he did last season so often.

All in all, the Knicks resigned a guy who spurred them to a 50+ win pace after his acquisition and kept the ‘Nova band together. Jalen Brunson is the best free agent acquisition since…??? If paying Hart AAV of $20 million on the extension keeps Brunson happy, it’s worth the cost. Worst case scenario, this is a contract that can be traded without much difficulty as most—if not all—of the other 29 teams would love to have a guy like Hart on their roster.