Knicks' Josh Hart Sits Out Of Team USA Win - What Does It Mean?

Josh Hart did not play in Team USA's World Cup prep exhibition victory over Puerto Rico but that's probably good news for anyone who wants to see him in a New York Knicks uniform for the foreseeable future.

For as dominant as the United States' men's national basketball team's second half was in their exhibition victory over Puerto Rico on Monday night ... it lacked a little Hart.

New York Knicks guard/forward Josh Hart was the only rostered American that did not play in the 117-74 victory in Las Vegas, with "rest" being the listed reason for his absence. It's certainly bizarre to see load management employed in August, especially in the first game of a five-legged exhibition stretch en route to the FIBA Basketball World Cup in Asia. 

But any Knicks fan tuning into Monday's late festivities. ones likely satisfied with Jalen Brunson's double-double showing, can rest assured that it's perhaps the best thing they could've seen if they want to see Hart re-don blue and orange beyond the 2023-24 season. 

The opening of Team USA's five-game tune-up slate coincides with a vital date on Hart's contract timeline: having already (perhaps surprisingly) agreed to play next NBA season on a $12.9 million player option, Hart is eligible for a long-term extension beginning on Wednesday. Bizarre as it may have been to see him listed as a "resting" player at the start of an international excursion, it's more than likely merely a case of Hart protecting his long-term assets before inking a lengthy contract.

International basketball events, after all, while exciting, have not been immune to devastating injury: Kevin Durant, for example, dropped out of the run to the 2014 World Cup after Paul George's infamous compound fracture suffered during an American scrimmage. In the last World Cup run in 2019, Jayson Tatum suffered a sprained ankle toward the end of a narrow victory over Turkey in group play. 

With all that in mind, it's thus perfectly understandable that Hart would want to keep himself as healthy as possible before pen hits paper.

Fortunately for those eager to see Hart don a USA uniform, he'll likely take the floor if and when his extension is signed. Team USA has two exhibitions over the weekend in Spain, the first coming against Slovenia on Saturday afternoon (3:30 p.m. ET, FS1). 

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Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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