Former Knicks Star Calls Out Trae Young Disrespect
In the eyes of New York Knicks fans, Isaiah Hartenstein might as well be an avenger.
Hartenstein is in Las Vegas for the NBA Cup's semifinal round, set to rep the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday night against the Houston Rockets (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC). If the Thunder prevail, they will face the winner of the earlier Eastern semi between either the Atlanta Hawks or Milwaukee Bucks in Tuesday's jackpot finale.
Still fielding questions about his two-year tenure with the Knicks, Hartenstein hinted he still has his former team's back when speaking on Friday night, especially when it comes to potential Cup final foe Trae Young.
"I wouldn't have let him roll the dice on midcourt," Hartenstein said with a laugh in a video provided by Stefan Bondy of the New York Post. "I would've done something. I've always got love for New York."
Knicks fans might not have much interest in the festivities after their team was eliminated from contention by Atlanta, who earned a 108-100 victory at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday to punch its Sin City ticket. It's safe to say that they'll have no love for the Hawks and their franchise face Young, who rolled imaginary dice on MSG's midcourt emblem in recognition of his team making its way to Nevada.
Hartenstein and the Thunder headline the Western side of the NBA Cup's knockout round. Currently atop the overall Western leaderboard, Oklahoma City (19-5) secured its own Vegas spot by going 3-1 in group play before downing Dallas in Tuesday's quarterfinal action.
The NBA Cup's Vegas portions will be a prime opportunity for Hartenstein to demonstrate his value: seeking to atone for last year's playoff shortcomings, Oklahoma City can benefit from the spotlight the in-season tournament has to offer. Hartenstein was signed over the offseason to combat an anemic rebound effort, one that partly contributed to the top-ranked Thunder's second-round loss to Dallas.
Oklahoma City's fate has been well-rewarded in the early going: since returning from a preseason injury on Nov. 20, Hartenstein has hauled in 12.8 rebounds per game. That's good enough for fourth in the league in that span behind only Domantas Sabonis, Nikola Jokic and Hartenstein's metropolitan successor Karl-Anthony Towns.
The Knicks face Hartenstein and the Thunder twice next month, with his return to MSG slated for Jan. 10.