Josh Hart bringing multiple much-needed qualities to Knicks lineup

PHILADELPHIA — In a video that went viral, Jalen Brunson reacted to the news like an overjoyed kid getting exactly what he wanted for Christmas. 

Tom Thibodeau was far more muted, yet his smile — rare for the Knicks’ coach — as reporters peppered him with questions about his newest player revealed he was pretty pleased with the addition himself. 

Two of the most important Knicks sure seem glad that two-way wing Josh Hart is joining them on Broadway. 

“I have great respect for him. He’s been a top-flight competitor in the league for a long time, and he brings a lot of intangibles to the game,” Thibodeau said after practice Thursday regarding his general feelings about Hart before the trade was made official. 

In a four-team trade, the Knicks sent Svi Mykhailiuk to the Hornets and a lottery-protected 2023 first-round pick along with Cam Reddish and Ryan Arcidiacono and the draft rights to Ante Tomic to the Trail Blazers for the 27-year-old Hart and the draft rights to Bojan Dubljevic and Daniel Diez.

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“We are excited to add Josh Hart to our Knicks family,” Knicks president Leon Rose said in a statement. “He’s a versatile two-way player who brings toughness, veteran leadership and a competitive edge to our roster.”

Hart, who has a $12.9 million player option for next year, played two years at Villanova with Brunson, winning a national championship in 2016 before Hart was picked in the first round (30th overall) of the 2017 draft by the Jazz and traded to the Lakers on draft night. They would go at each other in practice, two iron-willed teammates current Villanova coach Kyle Neptune called the backbones of the program in their time on campus. Neither would hold anything back.

“They helped each other because they’re both fiery competitors,” Neptune, an assistant under Jay Wright when Hart and Brunson were Wildcats, told The Post. “They both have an alpha streak to them, and they’re bonded in that. They can also help each other because they’ve accomplished great things already. There’s a bond and trust there that you can’t get unless you’ve done something together.” 

Thibodeau didn’t say whether he expected Hart to start or if he would expand his rotation to 10 after playing with nine over the past two-plus months. He also was unsure if Hart would play Friday night against the 76ers. Thibodeau reiterated his stance from the other day, that he loved the Knicks’ roster and was happy with the progress their young players have made, although Hart’s addition could nudge second-year guard Miles McBride out of the rotation. 

“With that being said, you also look at what the possibilities are, and how can we improve our team?” Thibodeau said. “We always start internally and then we look externally, and any time we have a chance to improve the team, we have to take a good, hard look at it.” 

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The 6-foot-4 Hart, previously represented by Knicks president Leon Rose, was averaging 9.5 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 33.4 minutes along with a plus-3.3 net rating. He keyed a 132-129, overtime win for Portland over the Knicks at the Garden on Nov. 25 — when he had 10 points, 19 rebounds, four assists and two steals. 

“He’s probably the best rebounding guard in the league,” Thibodeau said at the time. 

And the Knicks have struggled at times keeping the opposition off the offensive glass. They are 21st in the league in defensive rebounding percentage at 71.2 percent and second-chance points allowed per game (14.5). Hart is fourth among guards in the NBA in the former category at 18.9 percent — trailing just Luka Doncic, Jarrett Culver and Jayson Tatum. 

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“The volume of 3s has changed that aspect of it because of the long rebounds,” Thibodeau said, referring to how important it is to have strong rebounding guards. “So I think that’s become important. I think we’ve always put a premium on the rebounding — we always say the defense, the rebounding and low turnovers puts you in position to win. And when you see teams taking 50 3s, and then those long rebounds, they’re important. They’re critical.” 

Like Brunson, the Knicks should have a good idea what they’re getting in Hart. Rose was his one-time agent. His current agent, Aaron Mintz, also represents All-Star Julius Randle. Brunson and Hart have remained close friends, according to Neptune. 

“It’s like anything, you look at where has he been, who’s he been around, what has he done, how has he done it, and then you ask yourself, does he fit into our group?” Thibodeau said, speaking generally about what the Knicks were looking for in a player at the trade deadline. “And there are a number of things you have to look at, what drives achievement, what drives improvement. It’s not just collecting talent — that’s the biggest mistake people make in this league. It’s all the other stuff that’s really important.”