During his Villanova jersey retirement celebration at Wells Fargo Center Wednesday night, Jalen Brunson received word that the New York Knicks had struck a deal with the Portland Trail Blazers where Josh Hart was sent to the Big Apple.
In complete awe, the point guard initially only could express his emotions with two words.
“Oh sh*t,” Brunson shouted.
Jalen Brunson finding out the Knicks traded for Josh Hart 🔥
Brunson and Hart’s relationship dates back to their collegiate days, as both saw their NCAA careers overlap as teammates at Villanova. The pair spent two seasons together where they helped guide the Wildcats to their second of three total NCAA tournament championships in 2016.
The coincidence that Adrian Wojnarowski’s report would come on the night the Knicks guard was having his Villanova jersey raised into the rafters is truly story book-esque.
Knicks, Blazers Trade Details
According to Wojnarowski, the specifics of the Wednesday night trade reads as follows:
New York Knicks receive: Josh Hart
Portland Trail Blazers receive: Cam Reddish, Ryan Arcidiacono, Svi Mykhailiuk, protected future first-round pick
The Knicks are sending Ryan Arcidiacono and Svi Mykhailiuk to the Blazers in the deal too, sources said.
This trade comes just a mere hours after initial reports by SNY surfaced that stated the Blazers had expressed an interest in acquiring the Knicks’ estranged forward.
“According to SNY NBA Insider Ian Begley, the Knicks and Portland Trail Blazers have touched base on a potential Cam Reddish deal. Begley reported earlier on Wednesday that the Knicks have done some due diligence on Portland’s Josh Hart, so there’s a chance those two things could be related,” per the report.
Reddish, arguably the most noteworthy Portland-bound asset in the exchange, has not seen a lick of in-game action with New York since December 3 and posted 8.4 points and 1.6 rebounds through 20 games played in 2022-23.
The 2020 lottery pick ends his Knicks career with mere averages of 7.4 points and 1.5 rebounds through a total of 35 games played since being acquired in January of 2022 via trade with the Atlanta Hawks.
Hart a “Perfect” Running Mate for Knicks Guard
Josh Hart’s link to the Knicks is nothing new and, frankly, is something that dates back for quite some time now, as an anonymous NBA executive went as far as to tell Heavy Sports’ NBA Insider Sean Deveney earlier in the season that the wing could prove to be a great running mate for fourth-year guard, RJ Barrett.
“A guy who would be (a perfect running mate for RJ Barrett) would be Josh Hart, who can rebound [well at] his position, can defend out on the perimeter, can knock down [three-pointers], [and is a] very good passer,” the executive told Heavy Sports’ NBA Insider Sean Deveney.
A six-year NBA veteran, Josh Hart has made a name for himself as being a quality and trustworthy two-way wing as well as one of, if not the best rebounding guard in the game today and, through 51 games played in 2022-23, Hart finds himself posting impressive all-around averages of 9.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.1 steals on 50.4% shooting from the field.
Now, as a member of the Knicks, the hope is that he can finally bring some stability and much-needed depth to a wing position that has proven to be perhaps their weakest area on the depth chart and the one they’ve been trying to address all season.
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Knicks Guard Jalen Brunson Issues 2-Word Response to Josh Hart Trade