Money Talks: Knicks, Josh Hart Agree to Extend Player Option Deadline

Hart previously announced his intentions to decline his $12.9 million player option but negotiations have appeared to reopen.

The love ... or at the very least the mutual respect... is real between Josh Hart and the New York Knicks. 

Per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Hart and the Knicks have agreed to extend a deadline concerning his $12.9 million player option, one that the former strongly implied he'd decline earlier this offseason. That option came over along with Hart himself in a trade deadline deal with the Portland Trail Blazers.

The intriguing turn of events, coming hours after reports of the team planning to decline Derrick Rose's $15.6 million player option, could take on a major meaning. It could hint that the Knicks have something bigger planned and are trying to open some immediate cap space for a big move. Wojnarowski notes that Hart "is a priority to retain on a new deal" and accepting his player option could be the affordable first part of a longer extension. 

If Hart declines the option, he will become an unrestricted free agent. 

It's unknown, for the time being, what kind of bigger move the Knicks could be financially building towards. Hart has done his share of recruiting, openly calling for the Knicks to add his former Villanova teammate Donte DiVincenzo, who also shared the collegiate floor with current franchise face Jalen Brunson.

Both Hart and the Knicks have done little to hide their respect for each other. It took mere hours for Hart to start referring to New York as "home" and Brunson offered a public approval of the trade while, ironically, taking in a Wildcats game at Finneran Pavilion. With Hart in the lineup, the Knicks posted a 17-8 record to close out the regular season, helping them secure the fifth seed on the Eastern Conference playoff bracket (as well as their first playoff series victory in a decade).

With the extension in play, Hart's contract isn't the only one in need of resolution: Thursday also marks the deadline to enact the player option for Miles McBride, though his is a far more affordable $1.8 million. 

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Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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