3 ideal Josh Hart landing spots during NBA free agency

Acquired from the Portland Trail Blazers at the NBA trade deadline, Josh Hart played a huge role for the New York Knicks last season. The underrated wing was one of the primary reasons New York earned a surprise trip to the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

When front office head Leon Rose acquired Hart in the first place, he knew there was a real chance that the former first-round pick would opt out of his contract and hit NBA free agency. Hart plans on doing just that. "We’ll probably decline that (option) and do the free agency thing," Hart said earlier in June.

The Villanova product has a $12.96 million option for next season. He's vastly outplayed that figure with indications from NBA executives that Hart will earn between $15-18 million on the open market.

This doesn't disqualify the Knicks from re-signing the wing. Rather, it just goes to show us that Hart will have a strong market. Below, we look at three ideal landing spots for the wing.

Related: Josh Hart and the top-100 NBA free agents of 2023

While Hart has indicated he’ll test the free-agent waters, he's also made it clear that returning to the Knicks is a priority.

"I love New York. I love the team," Josh Hart said recently. "I love the coaching staff and the front office that we have. Obviously, that would be an ideal place for me, to just re-sign there. Everything's perfect off the court and on the court."

It actually makes perfect sense. In addition to playing in North America's largest media market, Hart is once again suiting up with former Villanova teammate Jalen Brunson. The two share a great off-court relationship and have excelled in the Big Apple after winning a title together with the Wildcats.

After coming over from Portland, Hart averaged 10.2 PPG, 7.0 RPG and 3.6 APG on 59% shooting, including 42% from three-point range. New York also posted an 18-7 regular season record with Hart on the court after the aforementioned trade. This has always made the most sense.

Why would a young team coming off a third consecutive non-playoff season sign a 28-year-old veteran? It doesn't seem to make too much sense. That's until we realize Orlando has north of $59 million to play with under the NBA salary cap. General manager Jeff Weltman is also expected to be active after a promising showing with a young core in 2022-23.

From an on-court perspective, someone of Hart's all-around ability makes perfect sense for Orlando. The team has a need at the two-guard with Gary Harris struggling in that role and Jalen Suggs being seen more as a tweener. Hart would be an ideal fit.

The question here is whether Hart would join a team that many believe won't contend over the short-term. That's foolish. The Magic are not too far away from being a legit playoff contender. Forward Paolo Banchero averaged 20 points per game last season, winning NBA Rookie of the Year honors. Fellow young frontcourt star Franz Wagner (18.6 PPG, 49% shooting last season) is on the upswing. Orlando also boasts two lottery picks in the 2023 NBA Draft that it might be able to flip for another proven asset. This is an under-the-radar potential landing spot for Josh Hart.

Related: Updated NBA trade rumors leading up to free agency

Fresh off their best season in a quarter-century, there is no reason to believe that Sacramento is going to be inactive during NBA free agency. Short of the team re-signing Harrison Barnes (unlikely), we’re expecting Sacramento to target a core piece with the $21-plus million the team has under the salary cap.

Hart might not be the traditional scoring two-guard. But the Kings don't necessarily need that with De’Aaron Fox doing his thing at the point (25.0 PPG last season) and Domantas Sabonis (19.1 PPG) dominating in the frontcourt.

The idea for Sacramento would be to slot Hart in at the off-ball spot with Kevin Huerter coming off the bench to give the second unit more scoring. The Kings could then flip former lottery pick Davion Mitchell and the contract of big man Richaun Holmes to find a starting center. This would make Sacramento a legit conference title contender moving forward.