Josh Hart's Journey from Trade Filler to Soul of the Knicks

On February 8^th , 2023, the Knicks made a trade with the Portland Trail Blazers. The deal brought Josh Hart to New York and saw three bench players and a first-round pick (that turned into Kris Murray) sent to Portland. At the time, Hart felt like a meandering rotation player in the league, the sort of player doomed to be thrown into trade deadline deals, much like what happened to point guard Denis Schroeder this past deadline.

What started as adding Jalen Brunson’s college teammate to the rotation has morphed into an asset that glues this Knicks team together. In the two years since acquiring him, Hart has elevated himself as a scoring option, elite rebounder, and effective defender. Much like another former Knick who wore number three, Hart has captured the minds of Knick fans and embodies everything we want this team and its players to be.