Josh Hart 'wanted to stay in New York,' helped Knicks land Donte DiVincenzo
LAS VEGAS -- Josh Hart thinks Knicks fans are going to love Donte DiVincenzo.
“He’s a New York style player. That blue-collar, hard work thing – that’s what he does,” Hart said Thursday after his first practice with Team USA’s World Cup squad. “He’s going to go defend multiple positions, be tough, be gritty, help us win games. New York is going to love him. He’s definitely a guy that we needed, that we wanted and happy we got.”
The Knicks were able to land DiVincenzo thanks to Hart.
Hart decided to exercise the player option in the final year of his contract instead of testing free agency. That gave the Knicks more financial flexibility to sign DiVincenzo to a four-year, $50 million deal. He could have earned more money in 2023-24 as a free agent.
“I wanted to stay in New York, I wanted to give this team the ... chance to be the best team that it could be and help them compete” Hart said of exercising his player option. “Opting in was definitely something that was going to help the team. To help us continue to build. I felt like that was something I wanted to do, something the team wanted also. So I wanted to be there, wanted the team to be the best that it could be so I thought that was the best thing to do.”
On Wednesday, Hart shared the floor with fellow Knick Jalen Brunson and fellow ex-Villanova player Mikal Bridges of the Nets. It was his first practice with Team USA as they prepare for the 2023 FIBA World Cup. Hart will be with the team this week for minicamp ahead of the exhibition opener on Aug. 7 against Puerto Rico.
Two days later, Hart will be eligible for an extension with the Knicks.
The extension can be as long as four years and for nearly $82 million in total. As we’ve noted on The Putback, the extension is expected to come in under the max. But it would be surprising if it weren’t agreed to later this month.
“Hopefully we’ll be able to get something done,” Hart said.
After Team USA finishes its exhibition schedule, they will head to Manila for the World Cup (Aug. 25 - Sept. 10). Roughly three weeks later, Hart will be in Tarrytown for his first Knicks training camp. He’s optimistic about the Knicks' chances to build on what they accomplished in 2022-23.
“We just gotta continue to get better. I think that’s the biggest thing,” Hart said on Wednesday. “I think we can continue to do that. We’re hungry. I think no one’s happy or complacent with where we ended up. I think we all felt like we could’ve got further. So we had that in the back of our mind.”
