New York Knicks guard Josh Hart reacts after scoring a three-point basket in the first half of Game 4 in an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Sunday, April 23, 2023, at Madison Square Garden in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
One of the first big dominos to fall in the New York Knicks’ offseason finally has as Josh Hart reportedly opted into his $12.9 million player option for the 2023-24 season.
New York Knicks G/F Josh Hart has opted into his $12.9 million contract to return for the 2023-24 season, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 29, 2023
The original deadline for Hart to make a decision had been Sunday night but he and the Knicks agreed to push the deadline to midnight on Thursday.
The decision to opt-in means that Hart will be back on a one-year contract with the Knicks next season for $12.9 million. However, the Knicks can still extend him in August when he’s eligible and sign him to a four-year, $81.3 million deal. Opting in also gives Hart a six-month trade restriction, so he will essentially have a one-year no-trade clause, which was likely appealing to him.
After coming to New York at the trade deadline, Hart averaged 10.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.4 steals in 25 games as the first option off of the bench. He also provided the team with elite offensive rebounding and perimeter defense, which were sorely lacking.
Hart accepting his player option gives New York $8.5 million in luxury tax space; yet, the team can also non-guaranteed contracts for Isaiah Roby and DaQuan Jeffries without suffering any cap penalty, which would give the team $12.7 million in space. That’s just more than the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, which is now $12 million and allows New York to use that to sign another rotation player this offseason, which could very well be Hart’s Villanova teammate Donte DiVincenzo.
However, as Jeremy Cohen of Knicks Film…
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