SACRAMENTO — In the days leading up to NBA free agency, Isaiah Hartenstein had a family situation that forced him to reroute his location from Texas to Oregon. He needed to visit his grandparents in Eugene. So any free-agency pitches would either need to wait, go virtual or make a detour for the Pacific Northwest.
The Oklahoma City Thunder decision-makers acted quickly. They’d previously planned to make the quick flight down to Houston to pitch Hartenstein, their top target. The itinerary was altered. Thunder general manager Sam Presti, head coach Mark Daigneault and their long-time lead medical voice, Donnie Strack, flew from Oklahoma City to Eugene.
“It’s not like I was in a nice little Los Angeles setup (like most NBA free-agent meetings),” Hartenstein told The Athletic. “We were in some random hotel in Eugene. Can’t remember the name.”
The gesture, to Hartenstein, “meant a lot,” considering the family reasons that forced it, a sign of both how the Thunder operated and how much they coveted him. On the team side, the location meant little considering the potential reward. They would’ve met Hartenstein anywhere, planting a large chunk of their available cap space on the table for a player who franchise face Shai Gilgeous-Alexander called a “dream big man for a marquee guy” late Monday night after the Thunder’s 130-109 win over the Sacramento Kings.
“I always kind of knew how the organization was from afar,” Hartenstein said. “But then to have them come out and present it all to me, explain how they kind of wanted to play me, explain the culture, it was just something really exciting for me. It’s a young group of guys who play the right way, first in the West and I felt like there was something I could bring that could really help.”
Hartenstein signed a hefty three-year, $87 million deal with some built in team-friendly aspects. The deal declines from $30 million to $28.5 million from the first to second season and the third season is a team option, creating financial flexibility right as Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren will be stepping into their expected big money extensions.
It’s been a steady rise for Hartenstein. He went to the Houston Rockets as the No. 43 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft and bounced from the Denver Nuggets to Cleveland Cavaliers to the LA Clippers in his first three seasons. He finally gained some career traction as a rotation big on a 42-40 Clippers team back in the 2021-22 season. Analytics models loved him. The New York Knicks stole him away on a two-year, $16 million deal.
Hartenstein took off in New York as a rugged center who could start or come off the bench, protect the rim at a high level, rebound like crazy, make better than 60 percent of his shots, burn defenses with his floater and blast open driving lanes with his physical screening. He was a key part of a great Knicks team.
Gilgeous-Alexander, the publicly reserved but very aware star guard of the Thunder, watched from afar and took notice.
“To be honest with you, I was watching the playoffs and I am aware of contract situations in the league,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “So I kind of knew (of his availability) as he was playing. And then once I saw the Knicks make all those moves in the summertime without him involved, I was kind of, like, ‘Hmm…’”
The Knicks swung a blockbuster trade for Mikal Bridges in late June and maintained a pretty public plan to also bring back OG Anunoby at a steep price. Considering the new CBA apron rules, that restricted how much they could pay Hartenstein, opening the door for Presti and the Thunder to break it down.
“I leave the front office stuff to Sam,” Gilgeous-Alexander said when asked if he made a call about it. “Trust him really well. Obviously he reads minds. So I didn’t have to say anything. … We knew as a group and the world kinda knew there was a hole in us as a team last year. I think Isaiah fills that hole very well. Sam did a good job filling it. We are better because of it.”
That has finally started to show this past week. Hartenstein fractured his hand in the preseason and missed the first 14 games. He returned off the bench and played 29 minutes in a home win over the Portland Trail Blazers, putting up 13 points, 14 rebounds, three assists and four blocks. He then backed that up on Monday night with 19 points, 10 rebounds and four assists, sliding into the Thunder’s starting lineup as the lone healthy center as Holmgren recovers from a broken hip.
“Offensive rebounding, defensive rebounding, size in general,” Gilgeous-Alexander said when asked what Hartenstein adds. “A lot of times we have found ourselves doubling the post just because we’re undersized. We don’t have to as much anymore. You know, he’s very skilled, can pass. I’m sure you saw it today. He had one behind his back falling down.”
Here is the pass Gilgeous-Alexander mentioned.
Hartenstein’s value feels outsized in this current moment considering Holmgren’s injury status. The Thunder’s franchise center is currently on crutches and isn’t expected to even get a re-evaluation for nearly two months. A long absence awaits and, in the meantime, Hartenstein profiles as the starting center in an otherwise small-ball environment for a Thunder team favored to grab the top seed in the conference.
But Hartenstein chose the Thunder — and they targeted him — with Holmgren’s inclusion as part of the equation, believing that both big men could not only survive but thrive on the court together. In their best theoretical playoff version, both are paired up in the frontcourt for large chunks of the game. That was part of their pitch — join a team that already has an elite franchise center because that isn’t the only position he will play.
“Just knowing that he (Holmgren) can play at the four, too, (appealed to me),” Hartenstein said. “Knowing this wasn’t like a situation where I’m blocked. Or it’s like I’m not starting at all. It was a situation where I knew he could play at the four. I can play the five. I felt like we could complement each other.”
They haven’t played a regular-season second together and won’t for the next couple months. But Hartenstein and Holmgren did share some preseason minutes together and the results were intriguing.
“The rim protection is one thing,” Hartenstein said. “I feel like we’re two of the elite rim protectors in the league. We approach it a little different. He’ll probably have more blocks. I’m more of a guy (whose impact is shown in) opponent field goal percentage around the rim.”
They connected on a couple dribble handoff actions in a preseason game against the San Antonio Spurs.
“That was really fun,” Hartenstein said.
Here’s one clip. Daigneault called Hartenstein the best screener he’s ever coached, noting his craft and subtle tactics. That includes a situation like below, where he walls off a lane for Holmgren to drive and dunk after delivering the dribble handoff.
The Thunder had the third-worst rebound rate a season ago. It burned them in their second-round playoff loss to the Dallas Mavericks. They have the worst rebound rate this season, playing a large portion without a center. Hartenstein was added in part to help correct that. He is one of the league’s best rebounders.
Two games is far too small a sample for anything in the NBA, but the early results are positive. Hartenstein has played two games, grabbed 24 rebounds and, in those two games, the Thunder has a 53.8 rebound rate, fifth in the NBA during that mini portion of the schedule.
“I’m not coming in here to change anything they’re doing,” Hartenstein said. “I’m just kind of here to enhance anything I can. I mean, I’m just kind of the player I am. I try to make everyone’s life easier. I’m going to rebound, help connect the team, facilitate, defend the bigger guys, protect the rim. So I just feel like there’s a lot of, like different scenarios where I could help the team, but I’m not going to come in and change the way they play. I mean, they play the way I like to play anyway.”
That was part of the Thunder’s pitch in Eugene.
“I’m a very present day-by-day type of guy,” Hartenstein said. “And that was the first thing that they kind of mentioned: We don’t want to skip steps. That’s a thing that certain teams don’t do. They were being honest and just tell me what they needed from me. And I felt like I could bring something to the team that already was first in the West that could really help them get over the hurdle.”
(Photo of Hartenstein: Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images)