Jalen Brunson Addresses Josh Hart's Contract Situation and 'Distractions' Ahead of Knicks Season

Jalen Brunson says teammate Josh Hart is going to "be a professional" as he and the rest of the New York Knicks look to avoid "distractions" with various contract situations hovering over the reigning champions.

"He's gonna be a professional," Brunson said Saturday when discussing Hart, who has a $22.3 million team option for next season and is yet to agree to a contract extension, per Jared Schwartz of the New York Post. 

"Not just him—everybody. Everyone's gonna be professional and continue to do their jobs. No matter what the situation is, things are gonna happen. There's always gonna be a roller coaster every season. Ups and downs emotionally. No matter what, when we're out there on the court, we're gonna have each other's backs."

Schwartz noted the Knicks said they are suspending extension negotiations until later in the 2026-27 campaign while attempting to avoid the second apron. That is particularly notable since Karl-Anthony Towns and Miles McBride are also eligible for extensions in addition to Hart.

What's more, Brunson will be eligible for an extension next year as the leader of the team.

"There's only potential distractions when you read and believe what people are saying," Brunson said. "No matter what's being said, no matter what's being talked about consistently or not, you believe what you wanna believe, you hear what you wanna hear. It's on us as teammates and individuals and professionals to understand what the nature of it is. People are gonna talk about it. So we gotta control what we can control and do our jobs."

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For his part, Hart said "everything is gonna work out, so I'm not really too stressed" while also taking a larger view of the situation.

"There will be days when you don't think about it, days where you're like, 'Let's hoop,' and then other days where it's top of the mind," Hart said. "We're human, sometimes it's difficult if you don't know what your future is. Sometimes that's tough, battling that, some days. But some days, you're not even worried about it. You just gotta focus on going out there and hooping. Obviously, there's a humanity side to it. Right now, I'm cool. I'm focused on the season."

The Knicks will already take the court during the 2026-27 season with a proverbial target on their back as the reigning champions. They will get their opponent's best shot on a nightly basis, which will only dial up the difficulty level in New York.

If the team gets off to a substandard start, the contract discussions will only generate more noise.

For now, though, Brunson and Hart are focused on basketball and playing at a high level amid all the additional focus after leading the Knicks to their first championship since the 1972-73 season.

And that title defense begins Oct. 20 when New York takes on LeBron James and the new-look Philadelphia 76ers.