NBA Expert’s Trade Prediction for Knicks May Not Please Jalen Brunson originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The New York Knicks had a special 2024-25 season. They made the conference finals for the first time since 2000 and had two players—Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns—make the All-Star team.
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The Indiana Pacers beat the Knicks in the conference finals in six games. A few days after the series ended, New York stunningly fired Tom Thibodeau as head coach.
Thibodeau was hired by the Knicks in 2020. He went 226-174 in the regular season and 24-23 in the postseason and won the 2021 Coach of the Year award.
New York has interviewed former Memphis Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins and former Sacramento Kings coach Mike Brown the for coaching vacancy.
New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson is close friends with Josh Hart.Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
Knicks president Leon Rose made a huge trade before the start of the 2024-25 season, acquiring Towns from the Minnesota Timberwolves.
While it’s still way too early to tell what New York will do this offseason, Dan Favale of Bleacher Report thinks Josh Hart could be traded.
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“Hart wins out over Mitchell Robinson because he’s making $6.5 million more ($19.5 million versus $13 million), but also because he’s less of an anomaly,” Favale wrote. “Nobody else on the roster brings Robinson’s combination of size, interior deterrence, offensive rebounding and (when healthy) mobility.”
Trading Hart, though, could have an impact on Brunson.
Hart and Brunson are close friends. They were teammates in college at Villanova and have a podcast together.
Hart played in 77 games for the Knicks this season. He averaged 13.6 points, 9.6 rebounds and 5.9 assists while shooting 52.5% from the field, 33.3% from beyond the arc and 77.6% from the foul line.
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The 30-year-old Hart will make $19.4 million next season.
Related: Knicks’ Pursuit of Jason Kidd Gets New Update
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 23, 2025, where it first appeared.