Knicks Center Signs With Thunder After Two Seasons
One of the New York Knicks' most prominent depth stars is moving on.
Per Shams Charania of The Athletic, Knicks center Isaiah Hartenstein is inking a three-year, $87 million deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Thus ends Hartenstein's Knicks tenure after two seasons after he signed with Manhattan after a breakout campaign with the Los Angeles Clippers. In that couple, Hartenstein established himself as a key contributor to the team's recent runs, particularly in last year's trek.
When tenured starter Mitchell Robinson went down with a long-term injury, Hartenstein entered the opening five. In 49 starts, Hartenstein averaged 9.4 rebounds and 8.7 points.
The 26-year-old wound up retaining the starting center's role even when Robinson surprisingly returned and he wound up averaging 8.5 points and 7.8 rebounds in 13 postseason games. Hartenstein was the 2024 playoffs' leader in total offensive rebounds until the final stages of the NBA Finals, when he was finally passed by Dereck Lively in Dallas.
In any event, Hartenstein will go down as one of many who helped kickstart a new era of Knicks basketball and, from his personal standpoint, New York goes down as the city that hosted his lasting NBA breakout that proved him worthy of a professional residency.
Hartenstein is set to become one of the most valuable additions of the offseason, as he joins an Oklahom City group whose rebounding woes came back to bite them.
Despite finishing atop the Western Conference, the Thunder finished 27th in total rebounds per game and second-to-last in offensive board averages. Chet Holmgren and the departed Josh Giddey were the only two players to pull in at least five per game. In addition to Hartenstein, the Thunder have also brought in defensive standout Alex Caruso via a trade with the Chicago Bulls, one that parted ways with Giddey.
With Hartenstein gone, Robinson and Jericho Sims stand as the team's current centers.
GEOFF MAGLIOCCHETTI
Editor-In-Chief at All Knicks