Knicks Star Loves NBA’s New TV Deal

New York Knicks owner James Dolan may not be a fan of the NBA’s new television deals, but one of his employees sure “Harts” it.

The Association is reportedly closing in on an 11-figure media deal that would potentially create the first $500 million man on the floor once teams start seeing the fruits of that newfound revenue, The deal would bring in NBC Sports and Amazon Prime Video to the fold and keep incumbents ABC and ESPN on board.

Hart knows he probably won’t reach half-billion status but the peacock’s dollars could, at the very least, delay his retirement.

“I was like, I want to retire when I’m 34, maybe 35, when I still got a little bit of juice left,” Hart said in an appearance on “Front Office Sports Today.” “But then I saw (the new media deal), I’m like, you know what, I’m going to play until my knees fall off.”

Some might be surprised that Hart’s knees are still attached after last season: in his first full tour as a Knick, Hart appeared in all but one regular season game and then played four complete playoff games during New York’s run to the Eastern Conference Semifinals. He averaged 9.4 points and a career-best 8.3 rebounds over the rewarding campaign, which saw him maintain a starting five role after an injury to Julius Randle.

Time will if Hart keeps the Knicks involved his long-term future, but the two sides liked each other well enough to agree upon a four-year, $81 million contract extension last summer, one that kicks in this season. That keeps the collaboration with collegiate teammate and podcast co-host Jalen Brunson alive with fellow former Villanova Wildcats Mikal Bridges and Donte DiVincenzo.

While Hart approves of the new deal and then some, Dolan expressed his opposition in an open letter to the NBA Board of Governors obtained by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Dolan is reportedly displeased with the revenue sharing aspects of the deal and that an increased national prescience will lead to regional sports networks, such as the Knicks’ MSG Network, becoming “unviable.”

“The NBA has made the move to an NFL model — deemphasizing and depowering the local market,” Dolan declared, per Wojnarowski’s report. “Soon, your only revenue concern will be the sale of tickets and what color next year’s jersey will be. Don’t worry, because due to revenue pooling, you are guaranteed to be neither a success nor a failure. Of course, to get there, the league must take down the successful franchises and redistribute to the less successful. This new media deal goes a long way to accomplishing that goal.”

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