Knicks trade Cam Reddish, protected 1st* to Portland for Josh Hart

Feb 9, 2023 - 3:24 AM

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?

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.

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:

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.

UPDATE 3

Ian Bagley confirms the old expression: when one Villanova teammate arrives, another must depart.

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?