Knicks’ Josh Hart Clarifies Cryptic Post Was About Chelsea Match, Not Towns Trade

One of the dangers of being a professional athlete who makes a vague comment on social media after your team does something significant is it can be misinterpreted, as New York Knicks forward Josh Hart found out on Saturday.

Hart had to clarify that a post asking “uhh…are we serious?” was a reference to Chelsea’s match against Brighton on Saturday morning, not about the Knicks’ decision to acquire Karl-Anthony Towns.

The Knicks pulled off a surprise blockbuster on Friday night by agreeing to send Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, Keita Bates-Diop and a future first-round pick via the Detroit Pistons to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Towns, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania and Jon Krawczynski.

Hart does have the online receipts to prove that he is a Chelsea fan, in case any conspiracy theorists are suspicious of his explanation.

SNY’s Ian Begley reported on Monday that Knicks center Mitchell Robinson is eyeing a December/January return after undergoing offseason ankle surgery. They were already thin at the position after losing Isaiah Hartenstein to the Oklahoma City Thunder in free agency.

Towns will slot in as the starting center, with Robinson able to come off the bench when he is ready to play.

One downside of the trade is the ‘Nova Knicks never got to play in a game together. Hart, DiVincenzo, Bridges and Jalen Brunson all played together at Villanova for two seasons from 2015 to ’17.

After the Bridges trade was finalized in July, Hart and Brunson were over the moon about the deal when discussing it on their podcast.

Even though the Knicks broke up the Villanova quartet, they are still in a great position to challenge the Boston Celtics for the top seed in the Eastern Conference this season.

Brunson established himself as a superstar during the Knicks’ playoff run last season. Bridges gives head coach Tom Thibodeau another versatile two-way wing, along with Hart and OG Anunoby.

Towns might take some time to get acclimated to a different system and new teammates, but he’s been one of the most reliable scorers from the center position since entering the NBA in 2016.

The Knicks ranked 14th in the NBA in three-point percentage last season. Towns should help increase that rate with a 39.8 percent success rate from behind the arc in his career.

Even if Hart was privately disappointed about not getting to play with his three Villanova teammates, the Knicks are still in a good spot to contend for an NBA title after making this move.