Josh Hart has his heart set on making New York his home.
Hart already plans to settle in Westchester near the New York Knicks practice facility if they sign him to a long-term deal this summer. Currently, he and his pregnant wife, Shannon, are living temporarily on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
“We love the Upper West Side, but them brownstones are expensive as [expletive]. It’s crazy. So, I’ll probably be a Westchester guy. But this summer, hopefully, everything goes well and maybe I’ll be a Westchester guy and find a nice little country club somewhere, play some golf …
“I’m about to have very minimal free time with the twins on the way and all that. But, man, I love golf. The last six months I haven’t been able to play with the weather and the season. I’ve just been loving it more and more. I watch almost every freaking PGA Tour event, the Players Championship. I like just playing golf, drinking wine, and hanging out. I’m not too much [of] a going-out guy. I like to stay home, kick it with the fam, kick it with the dogs, and just chill. That’s all I want. Give me a house with a huge yard with three holes, have a nice wine cellar, area for the dogs to run.”
Josh Hart via Andscape
Hart is expected to decline his $12.9 million player exception and sign a longer deal. The Knicks can go over the salary cap to retain Hart. They didn’t pay a first-round pick in addition to Cam Reddish just to let him walk away this summer.
Hart is a quintessential Tom Thibodeau guy, which was evident from the start. Even if he’s not starting, Hart has eaten up on Quentin Grimes’ minutes and became a fixture of the Knicks closing lineups.
It’s not hard to tell why.
The Knicks went off to a 9-0 start with him in the lineup and 12-4 overall. During this stretch, Hart is putting up big numbers off the bench: 11.1 points on 60.6 percent from the field and 55.6 percent from the 3-point arc, 7.0 rebounds, and 3.9 assists.
Thibodeau has been a fan of Hart’s rebounding prowess and ability to make winning plays.
Besides returning to the Northeast, the Maryland native has also been reunited with his Villanova teammate Jalen Brunson and former agent Leon Rose, who is now the Knicks president and instrumental in bringing him to New York.
“This is my sixth year in the league, fourth team, sixth head coach. I’ve been traded three times. It’s been a whirlwind. Not really ideally how I thought my first six years were going to go, but I want to find a home.
I want bigger things for my wife and myself. Just find a home somewhere where we are valued and really like living there. And I think that can be New York. I would love for it to be New York and hopefully the organization feels the same way. Coming up, this contract is hopefully my biggest one, one where I’m making sure my family’s fully taken care of. So, I’ve also got to take that into account, too.”
Josh Hart via Andscape
There’s no reason why the Knicks wouldn’t feel the same way. Consider this a done deal.
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