Hart's Hot Start: Newest Knick Sees 'Home' in New York
Either Josh Hart is remarkably easy to please or he likes what his new employers have in store for the road ahead.
Hart made his New York Knicks debut on Saturday night against the Utah Jazz, coming off the bench to register 11 points, seven rebounds, and four assists and steals each in a 126-120 victory. Those familiar with Hart's game ... and that includes new and old teammates in Jalen Brunson (Villanova University) and Julius Randle (Los Angeles Lakers) ... are well aware of what he can bring to the table and Saturday's showing was of little, if any, surprise.
“He's always been that player," Brunson, whose overjoyed reaction to the trade went viral, said of Hart's debut, per Steve Popper of Newsday. "He's unselfish ... he's a dude that just wants to win, who will do whatever it takes to win, and I think that fits perfectly because we have a lot of guys on this team that have the same mindset and we have a coach who has that mindset. So, we're putting all the pieces together and we'll continue to get better, but I think this is a great first day for him. He's only going to continue to thrive.”
It was the type of game that has turned Hart into one of the game's more reliable, if not well-traveled, swingmen, a niche he has been working on since arriving in the first round of the 2017 NBA Draft. Chosen by Utah a year after collaborating with Brunson on a national title run at Villanova, Hart was traded on draft night to the Los Angeles Lakers, where he spent his freshman season with Randle. He was involved in the Anthony Davis trade to New Orleans in 2019 and was later involved in last year's deadline activity, traded to Portland in a deal headlined by CJ McCollum.
Call him eager to find some professional stability, but Hart was willing to say he found a comfortable aura in New York, one no doubt partly brought about by an adoring, packed Madison Square Garden.
"I’m looking for a home, and I think this could be it," Hart said, per Peter Botte of the New York Post. "(Me and Brunson) are excited to be teammates, and we’re both excited to be Knicks. I think that’s the biggest thing.”
Appropriately, Brunson and Hart's postgame public comments came with one by the other's side. Hart gleefully shared a screenshot from a FaceTime conversation he had with Brunson shortly after they made contact from the trade. Hart declared that is was a reunion several years in the making.
"It was something that we’ve talked about several times. It’s something that we both wanted to do in our careers and, man, we’re both excited,” Hart said of connecting with Brunson on a professional level, also expressing excitement as his chance to work with Randle again. “Having relationships when you’re going to a new team always helps and it always when those guys are those guys. They’re All-Star caliber players. I’m looking to pick up where we left off."
Hart, averaging a career-best 9.2 rebounds so far this season, is up for a player option in his contract worth just under $13 million next season. He came over from Portland in exchange for Cam Reddish, Ryan Arcidiacono, Svi Mykhailiuk, and a protected first-round pick.
In more immediate affairs, Hart and the Knicks (31-27) battle the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG).
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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