Josh Hart made it clear this offseaon that he wanted to stay with the New York Knicks on a new, long-term contract after opting into his final year of his existing deal. On Wednesday, the Knicks granted Hart's wish, as it was reported the two sides were finalizing a four-year extension in the ballpark of $81 million.

Now signed through the 2027-28 season and set to make over $90 million over that span, Hart is not going anywhere anytime soon.

The summer is usually never kind to the Knicks given that they always seem to miss out on big-name free agents and their fans have not been too happy with how the front office has handled the draft. What New York has been able to accomplish this offseason may not seem substantial, but Donte DiVincenzo is going to be a key role player for this playoff team and Wednesday's extension for Hart gives us a glimpse into what may be in store moving forward.

Julius Randle, Jalen Brunson and Mitchell Robinson all have three years remaining on their contracts, with Randle and Brunson each owning a player option for the 2025-26 season. RJ Barrett and DiVincenzo are under contract for an additional year through the 2026-27 season. If anything is clear, it is that the Knicks want to have stability within their organization and don't want to leave anything to fate when it comes to their roster.

The 2022-23 season proved to be the most successful year this franchise has had in a very long time, as you have to go back a whole decade to see the Knicks win at least 47 games and advance past the first round of the playoffs. Simply making the postseason for the second time in three years was a huge accomplishment for this organization.

Even though he was on the hot seat at the start of last year, Tom Thibodeau has done an excellent job getting his team to buy into his vision. Entering 2023-24, the Knicks are going to have high aspirations to not only get back to the Eastern Conference Semifinals, but actually contend to win the conference altogether.

Knicks future amid Hart's extension

Looking at the bigger picture well past this upcoming season, Hart's extension signals the organization is more than comfortable buying into what they believe in. For years, Knicks fans have been pleading for the team to acquire a solidified All-Star talent and the general managers of social media have been very active on the trade machine. Expectations cannot be higher than they are in New York and when success is not found, people let the team hear it.

This has not bothered the Knicks, though, as president Leon Rose and the front office have stayed the course on believing in the players they have. Barrett and Randle have both been involved in trade rumors through the years, but they are still important pieces in New York's championship pursuit. Brunson has never been an All-Star, but they believed he could be one and there is a very strong chance he becomes an All-Star this upcoming season.

The Knicks want players who understand their role and are willing to give it their all on both ends of the floor for all 48 minutes, which brings us back to Hart. When he was traded to New York at the deadline last season, the Knicks were 30-27 and looking like a team that could end up in the play-in tournament. Hart helped lead the team to a 17-8 record to finish the season and they claimed the 5-seed in the East.

Not to mention, he averaged 10.2 points and 7.0 rebounds per game while shooting 58.6 percent from the floor and 51.9 percent from three-point range. Those numbers are great, but Hart's impact with New York does not necessarily show up on the stat sheet.

Diving on the ground for loose balls, making the extra pass to find an open teammate, playing hard-nosed defense and being physical against some of the best talents this league has to offer make him a perfect fit for Thibodeau's Knicks. These are all traits this team gets from Hart on a nightly basis, which he is why he is worth every single penny New York will be paying him over the next five seasons.

Financially speaking, this contract also says a lot about what moves the Knicks could be preparing to make well past the 2023-24 season.

Long-term salaries after Hart's extension

Assuming all options are picked up, Randle, Brunson, DiVincenzo, Robinson, Barrett and Hart are set to make roughly $372 million combined through the 2025-26 season. That's a lot of money, but these six players will account for 87.6 percent of the Knicks' cap during the 2023-24 season and they are their six best players.

Perhaps what really stands out about New York's finances is the fact that none of their players are on a max contract right now, giving them long-term flexibility if things go south at any point.

Potentially trading Randle before the conclusion of his contract may be tough to do since he is set to make over $30 million. But Barrett presents value as a 23-year-old swingman, Robinson is on a descending contract and both Hart and DiVincenzo's contracts don't break the bank, either.

The Knicks are not planning on trading any of these guys, yet value can present itself if a move needs to be made since every single player is on a friendly contract.

With the cap increasing virtually every single season, the Knicks will have more and more flexibility, especially as some of these contracts come to an end. It is rare for any team in the league to keep their core together longer than three-to-four seasons nowadays, and with the contracts New York currently has, options present themselves for when change will inevitably need to happen. Not to mention, the six players that are a part of their core are currently in their 20s.

This extension the team gave to Josh Hart makes sense given his production on the court. Looking at their roster from a long-term perspective, the Knicks really haven't tied themselves down despite agreeing to give him $81 million.

Believe it or not, New York is in a great position as a franchise and is only going to continue getting better with draft picks and youthful talent brought in over the next several seasons.