Even a fair warning couldn’t save the New York Knicks.
Isaiah Hartenstein is unofficially gone, headed to Oklahoma City to compete for a title with the Western Conference’s top seed, and his former team must look elsewhere for a replacement.
Hartenstein agreed to a three-year, $87 million contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday, league sources said. The AthleticBut New York, which signed Hartenstein to a modest contract a few summers ago, felt the departure of its starting center was inevitable.
Because of a discrepancy in the collective bargaining agreement, the Knicks couldn’t offer more than $72.5 million over four years, and only $64 million of that could be guaranteed. Once the NBA Finals were over, and management could begin negotiating with their free agents, the Knicks made Hartenstein the highest offer, a league source said. The 26-year-old opted to test the free-agent market anyway, believing more attractive offers were on the way.
He was right.
Before free agency began, Hartenstein’s team informed the Knicks that they should expect other offers that were higher than New York’s, league sources said. The 2.13-pound player has told me throughout the process that, all things being equal, he wants to return to the franchise that helped him break out.
Hartenstein signed a two-year, $18 million deal with the Knicks just a few summers ago, but under their watch he has become Jalen Brunson’s favorite pick-and-roll partner, a defensive dynamo and a darling of analysts. But even if the Knicks wanted to keep Hartenstein, even if he considered returning, the money gap was too great.
The Knicks never withdrew their offer to Hartenstein, a league source said, even though they anticipated his departure.
Unless they make a big trade, they already have next season’s starting center: Mitchell Robinson.
No free agent center comes close to Hartenstein’s abilities. The list includes (in no particular order) Goga Bitadze, Moe Wagner, Daniel Theis, Thomas Bryant and Mo Bamba. Other 2024 free agents Nicolas Claxton, Jonas Valančiūnas, Andre Drummond, Drew Eubanks, Kevin Love, Mason Plumlee and Luke Kornet have already signed deals with other teams.
One name to watch is Precious Achiuwa, the unrestricted free agent who filled in admirably as a backup center and power forward for the Knicks last season.
New York opted not to tender Achiuwa a qualifying offer, which would have made him a restricted free agent, but made that decision only because it was better for the team’s salary cap flexibility. The Knicks are leaving open the possibility of re-signing Achiuwa, a league source said. If Achiuwa returns, he would play behind Robinson.
The Knicks also still have Jericho Sims under contract.
They could use the taxpayer’s $5 million mid-level exception to sign someone. They could also scour the trade market. They have $6.8 million and $5.2 million in trade exceptions, meaning they could absorb players who reach that salary in trades without sending any money.
Head coach Tom Thibodeau’s ethos is protecting the basket. He builds his defenses around it. It’s hard to imagine a world in which the Knicks fail to prioritize protecting the paint, even though they’re loaded with perimeter stoppers, including OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, Donte DiVincenzo and Miles McBride.
Robinson was in the midst of his best season when he injured his ankle in December, an injury that required surgery and kept him sidelined for four months. Robinson had another operation on the same ankle in the spring.
He’s a shot blocker, a long-armed paint choker, smothering opponents who drive to the basket or run at him in pick-and-rolls. Thibodeau says he’s also one of the best offensive rebounders. He caught 17 percent of his team’s missed shots while on the court last season, a number that would have placed him second in the league had he played enough games to qualify.
But what about his health? Robinson has only played more than 66 games once in his six professional seasons.
Despite a limited offensive profile, Robinson was the Knicks’ starter until he was injured. Hartenstein took over shortly after and never relinquished the role.
With his pinpoint passing and ability to float, Hartenstein emerged alongside All-NBA point guard Brunson as one half of the Knicks’ preferred pick-and-roll combination. Opponents couldn’t feel as comfortable sending two defenders to Brunson, who could send a pass to his pivot for a push shot, a swing to an open 3-pointer or a dish to a cutter.
The Knicks didn’t lose much on the other end with Hartenstein on the first unit, either. Advanced stats cast him as one of the NBA’s most stifling defenders. He finished second in the league in estimated defensive plus-minus. Opponents shot just 52.5 percent on dunks and layups when he was the closest defender, sixth in the NBA among the 95 qualified players who had at least three dunks per game.
Who beat Hartenstein? His new teammate, Chet Holmgren.
As tempting as the money was, Hartenstein wasn’t just looking for a life-changing payday. He was also looking for an ideal basketball player. It’s likely he wasn’t leaving the Knicks for a place where he couldn’t thrive, even if that place offered a higher salary.
But Hartenstein was made for the Thunder, who needed reinforcements to protect the basket and the glass. Now they’ve found them.
Hartenstein could play alongside Holmgren, who emerged as one of the league’s most intimidating shot blockers as a rookie in 2023-24. A couple of big men can regularly scare offenders in the paint.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma City plays a particular style, one that relies on quick decision-making. The Thunder screen quickly, cut quickly and pass quickly. Hartenstein, whose greatest trait is his processing speed, should become comfortable in his new role whether or not he’s alongside Holmgren, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams.
The signing represents a departure from OKC’s norm. Before Hartenstein, the Thunder had never given an unrestricted free agent from another team as much money as the $16 million over three years they paid Patrick Patterson in 2017.
Because of the recent Bridges trade, which has yet to be finalized, the Knicks will be limited to a high salary cap this season, though it is not yet known how much. If the deal goes through as planned, sending Bojan Bogdanović and a package of draft picks to the Brooklyn Nets for Bridges, New York will be limited to a cap hit of $178.1 million, known as the “first apron.”
Right now, the team is only $5 million short of that. However, the Knicks could tweak the Bridges acquisition, sending more money than they receive and thus being capped at a higher $188.9 million, a threshold known as the “second apron.”
Hartenstein, 26, averaged 7.8 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists last season.
(Photo of Mitchell Robinson and Precious Achiuwa: Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images)