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Put away those sleepy Leon Rose memes, folks! Today the godfather settled (some) family business by trading Cam Reddish and a protected 1st-round pick to the Portland Trail Blazers for Josh Hart. Don’t believe me?
The Knicks are trading Cam Reddish and a protected future first-round pick to the Blazers for Hart, sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/whB5mS8lfs
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 9, 2023
We’ll update the story as details emerge. Or you can check Twitter later tonight and it’ll have leaked by then.
Hart, who’ll be 28 in March, is a 6-foot-5 wing with a high basketball IQ who’s a plus defender. Like the sideways eight signifying infinity, Hart’s shot profile has followed an unusual criss-cross shape through this season, his sixth as a pro. His first few years he took fewer twos en route to becoming a high volume 3-and-D threat. The past couple years, he’s cut down to his fewest 3-point attempts ever while gradually upping his looks at the rim.
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Hart has a player option for just under $13M next year, otherwise he’ll be a free agent. He’s never played for a winning team or a playoff team. It’s worth waiting to see if Rose has another deal in the works, since this trade exchanged Reddish, long out of the rotation, for Hart, who will be a part of it from day one. Stay tuned for updates and more news through tomorrow’s 3:00 p.m. trade deadline.
UPDATE
Already with the updates! The Knicks, due to bonuses that Julius Randle and Isaiah Hartenstein have earned or are likely to, are only about $4.5M away from the luxury tax. Cap nerds started bugging after the Hart trade was first announced because apparently it put the Knicks over the tax and we all know James Dolan can’t afford that. Thus hath the other shoe droppeth:
Svi Mykhailiuk is headed to Portland in the Josh Hart deal, league sources tell @TheAthletic.
— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) February 9, 2023
Au revoir, Svi. We hardly knew ye. For real. I already don’t remember his face.
UPDATE 2
At least one Knick is happy to be reuinted with Hart: his college teammate.
Jalen Brunson’s authentic reaction to the Josh Hart trade: pic.twitter.com/G3oyqziERv
— KnicksMuse (@KnicksMuse) February 9, 2023
UPDATE 3
Ian Bagley confirms the old expression: when one Villanova teammate arrives, another must depart.
The Knicks make a deal the night before the trade deadline, getting Josh Hart https://t.co/XyWhj2p82b pic.twitter.com/UurXA1yraQ
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) February 9, 2023
This actually bothers me, since this was the year I finally learned the correct syllabic emphasis on Ar-ci-di-A-co-no. For years he was the one NBA name I just avoided at all costs. Hart’s a vast upgrade. S’all good.
UPDATE 4
When is a first-round pick not a first-round pick?
The protected first-rounder the Knicks are sending to Portland in the Josh Hart trade is their 2023 one, league sources said. It's lottery protected in 2023 and turns into four second-rounders if it doesn't convey this year. @wojespn first with the pick/protection details.
— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) February 9, 2023
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