Free agent center Isaiah Hartenstein is headed back west, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that Hartenstein and the Thunder are in agreement on a three-year contract worth $87MM.
Hartenstein, who began his NBA career in Houston in 2018 and had a breakout year with the Clippers in 2021/22, has spent the past two seasons in New York, primarily serving as Mitchell Robinson‘s backup at the five. However, when Robinson went down with an ankle injury midway through the ’23/24 season, Hartenstein entered the starting lineup and acquitted himself extremely well.
In 75 regular season games (49 starts), Hartenstein averaged 7.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.1 blocks in 25.3 minutes per contest, making 64.4% of his shots from the floor and playing solid defense. He continued to start for the Knicks in the playoffs, where he registered 8.5 PPG, 7.8 RPG, and 3.5 APG in 29.8 MPG.
Although the Knicks wanted to retain Hartenstein, they were limited to a maximum offer of approximately $72.5MM over four years, since they only held his Early Bird rights, which allowed for a raise of up to 75% on his $9.25MM cap hit from 2023/24.
New York put that offer on the table for the 26-year-old, Ian Begley of SNY.tv confirms (via Twitter). The Thunder blew it out of the water by comfortably exceeding the total value of the Knicks’ best offer across just three years instead of four, though Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (Twitter link) hears that the frontloaded contract won’t be guaranteed in the final season.
Rookie of the Year runner-up Chet Holmgren was the Thunder’s starting center last season and excelled in that role. However, Holmgren lacks the bulk to match up physically with some of the NBA’s bigger centers, and Oklahoma City was among the worst-performing teams on the boards, ranking 28th in rebounding percentage (48.4%).
Hartenstein will help out in both areas while also giving the Thunder another rim protector and a talented frontcourt passer. On top of that, he’ll be a crucial insurance policy at the five in the event of an injury. While Holmgren didn’t miss a game in 2023/24, he sat out his entire rookie season in ’22/23 due to foot surgery.
Their deal with Hartenstein is the latest move in an impressive offseason for the Thunder, who kicked off their summer by trading ill-fitting guard Josh Giddey to Chicago in exchange for three-and-D ace Alex Caruso. OKC will use the rest of its cap room to sign Hartenstein, then will go over the cap to complete reported long-term agreements with Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins.
The Knicks, meanwhile, will be in the market for a center. Robinson and Jericho Sims remain under contract in New York, but with Hartenstein gone and Precious Achiuwa in unrestricted free agency, the team will need to add at least one big man.
Magic big man Goga Bitadze has been mentioned as a possible target for the Knicks, but Begley (Twitter video link) hears that Bitadze has an offer on the table from Orlando that New York likely won’t be able to top. The Magic had been mentioned as a possible Hartenstein suitor, so presumably they’re more likely to bring back Bitadze with Hartenstein off the board.
The Knicks’ ability to take on additional salary via trade or free agency will depend on how the Mikal Bridges trade is structured. According to Begley, New York is confident it will be able to add enough salary to that deal to be hard-capped at the second tax apron instead of the first apron, creating an extra $11MM in spending flexibility.
Wow. 29 per !!
Thunder going to be luxury tax land with the rest of the big rollers pretty soon. Can’t keep all these young studs without it.
Smart to grab a center while you still have room before the other salaries start kicking in.
Wow. That sucks. That’s an offer he couldn’t refuse. BYE BYE IHART!!!!
The 3rd years is very likely a team option so this is only a 2 year. They will be fine when they have to give SGA new deals, Jalen & Chet extensions.
It’s 100% certainly not going to be a team option. The needed to guarantee the third year to incent him to move on from the Knicks. An option would have only been $59M guaranteed. The Knicks would have guaranteed him $72.5M and could have made years 3 and 4 player options. Since the Knicks would then have Bird rights, it would have been a better deal than what he signed for– more guarantee and more upside. The Thunder had to blow the Knicks guarantee away to win this.
They already reported the 3rd year has NO guarantees. They front loaded the deal so this is technically a 2 year deal. The 3rd is a team option or he gets cut and won’t see it because Jalen and Chet years.
That’s a big swing based on fit, but it’s not a big surprise, really. I-Hart is able to do basically everything except shoot 3s, and he can still shoot a little (nearly 40% from midrange and he will sometimes drop a couple 3s when he’s wide open), and the Thunder needed that.
This was expected, he should be a great help as OKC just did not have the rebounding skills. They also were allowing Dallas to just lob over them whenever.
Sad to see him go from New York with Drummond and Plumlee off the market will be interesting to see who the Knicks can get because as we know Mitch needs a reliable backup…maybe this opens it back up for Prince return
Ny had their chance to draft some bigs at 24 and 25. Idk why they didn’t draft a PF/C and C back to back at 24/25 or 25/26
Which bigs were available at 24 and 25 that would be able to make any sort of contribution this season? After Yves Missi was drafted at #21, the next center was not drafted until pick 31 (Johnathan Mogbo) and only two more were drafted at all (Adem Bona at #41 and Ariel Hukporti at #58, who ended up as a Knick).
So who are you suggesting that the Knicks should have drafted? Mogbo? Bona? Some other UDFA?
You forgot Quinten Post at #52
My bad. The list I was drawing from has him listed as a PF.
Well, he’s 7’0″, but mostly shoots threes. Maybe he’s a very tall sf?
;-)
Kyle Filipkowski, Tyler Smith, were available and could definitely have been contributors this year as back up’s behind Randle and Robinson.
He also forgot Tyler Smith at 33 and Kyle Filipkowski at 32.
At 6’11 Smith definitely could have provided backup production at PF/C, same with Filipkowski.
Missi is yrs away, Holmes could have helped. But he also needs time. Thibs knows Knicks need experience here. I’m sure they Knew IHart was leaving.
I called this beginning of playoffs.
I am happy for him, but ugh that hurts! Love and appreciate everything iHart brought to the Knicks the past two seasons. Maybe the knicks should consider the likes of Thomas Bryant or Goga Bitadze. Thomas Bryant is a solid player, never seemed to find a consistent role yet. He played with OG Anunoby in college, not sure if there is any sort of connection there…
Hartenstein to Goga Bitadze is an isane drop off
Correct, hard to replace Hartenstein. Most of the available names out there are not too impressive.
Both those guys were thoughts I had. I think Thomas Bryant would give them spacing they need, and the defense is good enough around him where he should be fine there. I thought he would opt in with the Heat, to be honest, and I immediately thought Knicks when he didnt. Especially with him looking for playing time, it feels like a future talking point with the media who will pretend he was found by the knicks, and will act shocked when an NBA player is useful
Isaiah Hartenstein just got a bag!!! He’s very solid! Only 26 years old and plays winning basketball and plays the right way. Then he plays with a non stop motor!
OKC is all in this year.
My expectations for okc this season is nba finals/championship anything other than that would be a disappointment
The wolves and Nuggets think the same thing. Then you have Dallas of course. Pretty solid top four.
Are the Nuggets in that convo anymore? KCP is a big loss, and they still have no bench as of now. Sure, Braun can step up, but can he do better than KCP as an off-ball target and defensive stopper?
Yes they’re still in that convo. They’re only one year removed from a championship and still have 4/5 of that core lineup. Plus Jokic is the reigning MVP and still, at worst, one of the top 3 players in the league. As long as Jokic continues to play like this they are still firmly in the discussion of a top 4 team out West and should still be in the “Finals/Championship or bust” mindset.
Eon, I’m in agreement with you. Many said the Nuggets had a clear path to repeat but I said hold on. You lost two out of your three playoffs bench pieces. Not going to happen as easily as many thought.
And here we are they lose yet another guy. Sure they’re in the conversation but it’s not a clear path to the championship for the nuggets.
Dallas is going to start the year better next season, almost certainly, plus Memphis will be healthy and otherwise available. So that’s two threats. NO and PHX are less likely, but you can’t count them out either. And Sacremento and both LA squads aren’t just going to throw up their hands. Jokic is a beast, but the rest of the roster revolves so heavily around him, even Murray.
Yes and The Starters play Heavy minutes with the nuggets. With a bench that’s thinned out that’s going to weigh on them again. The shots stop falling when the legs are tired. Murray may have more than just one game where he’s three for 16.
Denver signed a couple of interesting UDFA, and they have the capability of adding a 2 way guard they needed last year. I think Hunter Tyson also gets more opportunities off the bench, and Christian Braun is a winning player. The rumors of guys they’re attached to are interesting, so I think they’ll probably better than they were this most recent season, where I thought they were missing a piece from the beginning
OKC has had the best offseason so far by a lot. Nuggets look to be worse and the Mavs lost Jones Jr.
Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins also got bags!!!!! The Oklahoma City Thunder are going for it and I love to see it. They are deep!!! They got two way players!!! They got defenders!!! They got shooters!!! They have the recipe to win the NBA Finals!!! It’s a long journey and most importantly they need good health.
This seems like a lot for a backup center…
In today’s NBA I-Hart is not a backup center. Guy was great as a starter on the Knicks. His offensive rebounding was insane. Good defender and all hustle. I’ll miss him on the knicks.
Tell me though this guy didn’t look lost sometimes? Played well sometimes. But maybe his minutes usage in the playoffs was too much. But with no choice he played extra minutes. He won’t be asked to do as much in OKC. Minutes wise.
During the first half, Mitch’s offensive rebounding was ever more insane. I have to wonder if this has more to do with the Knicks than the player.
Facts matter. Hartenstein is a backup. Split time with Robinson. Foul prone backup. Only started when Robinson was hurt. Undersized backup.
Really ?????
7’ , 250 lbs. Have you ever watched a Knick game ….
Love IH, but that’s an overpay. Guessing the Knicks will find a way to bring back PA and look at options around the deadline.
Yeah, wish he could have come back, but that’s way more money than the Knicks could offer and he’ll keep a little more of it as well playing half his games in OKC vs NYC. Love iHart but in addition to the money, OKC is a title contender so he can chase both the money and the ring.
Back of my mind I was wondering if they’d go after Jalen Smith – similar IH situation two years ago and can do many of the things IH did minus the passing. But he just signed, so I’m guessing PA is just waiting around until they get the money figured out with the cap. Wondering if they could make a move around the deadline for a Stewert/Duren and shower them with draft picks.
It is an overpay . But he earned it. Talk about right place right time. Good for him.
IHart is one of good guys.
Agreed. He was a big part of the success last year. What he does doesn’t always show up on the stat sheet. It going to suck seeing him play 2x a year.
Worst contract by far this offseason.
Massive overpay. Must have outbid themselves. Or just want FAs to know they pay out.
Apparently you missed Philly giving a guy 212 million over 4 years who has played one complete season in the last 5
Or the clippers giving the beard 70 million GUARANTEED over 2 years.
While it’s an overpay this isn’t anywhere close to the worst contract.
This comment goes into the Hall of shame as possibly the most ridiculous and obviously made under the influence worst comment ever.
Awesome for him. They also needed another big that could fit around their playmakers, and he’s a great fit. Talked about him these last few years, and I bet the people that complained when the knicks signed him have something different to say now
Knows how to play, in the right positions, offensive rebounds really well,can make plays in different areas of the floor, more than adequate defender in some areas, and a strong defender in other areas, and provides vertical spacing
Gives a semblance of floor spacing from the 5 spot, without actually knocking down shots himself
Amazing screener as well, which is Jokic’s best skill, in my opinion
I gotta be honest. This guy makes some plays but watching him with the Knicks this post season was hard to watch. He looked confused and flat footed. Doesn’t have a flow to his feel for the game. Takes entire plays off. Fouls are heavy handed and not a close call. Today’s 29 million was last CBAs 14 million. He’s a 14 million dollar player you broke the bank for. I don’t like to talk about money being someone’s worth. But paying a guy for being tall is…. not gonna work.
They should have gotten Markkanen with all those picks but not mad at acquiring IT…
Lauri can’t rebound and defend like IH. OKC did not need another ball needy guy.
Getting Markannen wouldn’t have been that easy. A bunch of picks isn’t going to do it as Utah has plenty of those. KC could of possibly made a play for Markkanen before they traded Giddey.
Claxton was the best choice
How can someone be a choice when they Re signed before FA?
Holy mother of overpays. If this guy was like the missing piece, but no… way way way too much.
Time to bring back Precious. Does anyone think he wants to come back?
I don’t think you understand how the nba works.
With contract extentions coming up for JWill and Chet in a couple of years, along with their other guys, the window to sign a FA outright with cap space was closing.
Also, this may shock you, but FAs are not exactly lining up to go to OKC. They’ve always had to overpay to get guys to sign there.
They needed center and he’s a good one. The contract will be off the books by the time big extensions kick in for their other players. Stop looking at just the number and consider the context.
They could have traded like 4FRPs for Duren and this by comparison would be an overpay. There is nothing special that iHart does to justify backing up the brinks truck.
They could have signed Big Val and gotten the same production. Traded for a better player like Sengun or Duren as I mentioned.
Nurkic even would have been better than wasting 29M on iHart.
He is a good center like Zubac is a good center. Another player they could have traded for instead of doling out 29M.
Probably the biggest overpay I have seen in the past 4-5 years. Why should you pay 30m for a guy who can’t even creat for himself ?! Atleast bam can dribble , pull up & hit the occasional 3(oh and also), hes an ELITE defender. What is the difference between this guy and JV?
Defense lmao
Valencuinas got ran off the court in the series. He can’t play in playoffs and IH can.
Valanciunas can’t defend a parked car. Switch a guard onto him and it’s a free bucket. Hartenstein can do everything Jonas does on offense but with way better defense, plus he’s a playmaker from the post, which allows for more offensive versatility with the Thunder’s numerous shooters and cutters. Hartenstein is also a FAR superior offensive rebounder; in nearly identical minutes, he averaged nearly half again as many as JV.
Post playmaker who can’t shoot is worth 30m ?! Lol.
It’s not like Jonas can shoot either, lol. Besides with, it’s functionally a 2-year deal because the 3rd year isn’t guaranteed. It’s like what the Rockets did with FVV and Brooks. Get the guy you need in the short term, then the contract becomes less of a factor when your core gets expensive.
He Isn’t a “shooter” but he shot 30%(from 3) this season , which is better than nothing.
One playoff against a hurt Joel and Myles Turner?
I don’t know who the Knicks pivot to. Drummond would have been a solid move, but he’s in Philly. Maybe they bring back Precious and roll with him and Sims? I don’t know. I trust Rose will figure something out, though.
As someone said earlier, Thomas Bryant, or another floor spacing big makes a lot of sense. There are a few options, which i would assume was the reason they didn’t draft someone, like maybe Filipowski
Sad for the NYK, but I wish him well. I suspected this was possible since mid-season. That went from possible to likely when some of the other salary numbers were reported. And of course when it was reported that they put their best deal on the table and he still went to the market.
They can’t replace his skill set, but they do need a C. I assume they have a plan B ready (its not like this came out of the blue).
Probably the reason they didn’t draft a floor spacing big…there’s a few easily available in FA
Agree it’s an overpay but if you’re going to overpay a non-max player, you could do worse than Hartenstein with his defense, rebounding, ability to pass out of the post, toughness, and being able to hit the occasional three. For a team in the championship conversation, it is forgiveable.
He was annoying versus us, but nearly 30 per is crazy.
Unfortunately for too many here. It’s always about The Knicks ………
Yes he’s overpaid. So what !!!!
He brings what they need most. If he plays 34 mins a gm. Like he did this yr. He was well worth it.
Wish you the best IHart. Thank you for playing for us. Giving Knicks your best.
Mitch learned a lot from IHart. Mitch was pushed by IHart. And that was part of the reason to sign him. Mitch is a better offensive rebounder cause of IHart. Mitch taps out offensive balls to perimeter better now. IHart taught him that. IHart also made Mitch a better passer.
Knicks still have their starting center. Who can still be a defensive force. Maybe even his offense takes a jump now. Cause of IHart.
Mitch has a chance to show his true worth. So let’s do this.
I was Rose I’d sign Wiseman. Thibs can work his magic on him. Like he did with Mitch and IHart.
Thunder are now ready to compete. And I see Chet taking another step up. This was their biggest need. Called it
Understand they are trying to shore up the front line with the Wolves, Mavs and Nuggets in the West but that’s an insane contract.