Isaiah Hartenstein will be one of the hottest names in the free agent market this offseason after a breakout year with the New York Knicks. The Knicks have the right to offer him up a multi-year deal worth around $72 million.
The franchise will have competition to sign the German-American big and the Thunder are perceived as the main competitor, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Post. Hartenstein will receive a financial upgrade this season after a successful year in the Garden.
The dynamic center started in 49 games for the Knicks after Mitchell Robinson was injured and missed significant time through the season. Hartenstein would help any team with his screening, his rebounding and his defense. He had a great playoff run in New York reaching the Eastern Conference semi-finals.
OKC has around $35 million in cap space to spend this summer and they might be able to offer more to Hartenstein. The Thunder will look to add another element to their frontline with Chet Holmgren manning the middle.
Bondy suggests that OKC could offer a two-year deal to the German bigman with a higher salary in order for both sides to retain future flexibility.
Isaiah Hartenstein left out from the 2024 Olympics
Germany NT head coach Gordon Herbert decided to not call Hartenstein for the 2024 Paris Olympics. The German coach elected to build the team with the players that they won the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup last summer.
The Knicks’ man averaged 7.8 points along with 8.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists while shooting 63.4 percent from the field. Instead of Hartenstein, Herbert included Daniel Theis who was spent most of the season on the bench during his stint with the Clippers.
Hartenstein will likely have to make a big decision for his career going into the free agency and he might in for a big payday. Let’s see if they are more teams that can offer him big bucks for his services after his breakout season in New York.
