Josh Hart is keenly hoping that he’ll be able to reach a contract extension with the New York Knicks.
“Hopefully,” Hart said when asked about a probable extension with the Knicks, via Ethan Sears of The New York Post. “Opting in, I was gonna take it one day at a time. We get there and then we can start having that conversation. Hopefully – that’s a place where I want to be and a place I want to call home. So we’ll see.
“… It was a hard decision (to exercise the option), but New York is somewhere I wanted to be. And we’ll get to everything else, hopefully later down the line. But opted in, New York is where I want to be. It’s where I want to call home. I feel like that was the best decision to do.”
This summer, Hart picked up his $12.9MM player option for the upcoming season to remain with the Knicks. The exercise he did ultimately made him eligible for a four-year, long-term extension with the franchise that can pay him over $80MM in total starting in August.
Hart indeed found a home in New York as he landed at their camp in the middle portion of last season and was able to reunite with Villanova Wildcats teammate Jalen Brunson. His trustworthy hustle and 3-and-D presence were beneficial to the Knicks’ 47-35 strong regular season finish, churning averages of 10.2 points, 7.0 boards, 3.6 assists, and 1.4 steals for 25 games.
Hart also served as an important piece to the club’s East Semis finish upon tallying 10.4 points, 7.4 boards, and 2.2 assists for 11 matches.
“I felt like it was home when I got there,” Hart said. “So now I’m just excited to be in the Garden for a full 41-plus, hopefully. And just having that New York vibe, that New York energy behind us.”
