Isaiah Hartenstein Looking to Maximize his Game With OKC Thunder

The Oklahoma City Thunder are attempting to maximize Isaiah Hartenstein's game after recent Free Agency Signing.

Mar 31, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks center Isaiah Hartenstein (55) shoots the ball while being defended by Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren (7) and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Aaron Wiggins (21) during the second quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-USA TODAY Sports / John Jones-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder went out and signed Isaiah Hartenstein in Free Agency. Luring the seven-footer away from the New York Knicks shows the belief the Thunder have in the big man filling out the rotation for an already 57-win ball club.

This move has catapulted the Thunder into the drivers seat of the Western Conference by suring up their front court rotation which many believe was the difference in last season's playoff run against the Dallas Mavericks. A series that ended in six games with a zero-point differential.

Hartenstein allows the Thunder to gain more size, work on the glass, be a connective play maker, the best screener on the roster and offer rim protection an area only Chet Holmgren thrived in a year ago. Though, the Thunder seem to believe the 26-year-old is not done developing.

"Well, I mean, just following his trajectory and his career over the time he's been in the NBA, his units play well together. He's got a great mentality for the team. I think his game also makes a difference in that way because he's a connecting player. People want to play with players like that. And he's worked extremely hard to get to this point in his career, and he's still very young. So that's one of the things that we're also really excited about is he's a young player that is still developing, exploring his game, and we're excited to do that with him," Presti said on Saturday at Hartenstein's Introductory press conference.

The former New York Knicks big man seems to agree with the sentiment that his game is not done evolving and developing.

"I think you're an NBA player, you have to adapt to certain roles, and that's what I had to do in New York. I think my passing only came out probably last year, so my first year I had to adapt to a certain role. That was something that I felt like I can really bring, expand my game as I was talking about before, just getting back to the shooting aspect because before I was shooting it, so it's really just getting back to that and being more versatile because that's kind of what the team needs," Hartenstein said.

The 26-year-old seems to believe he can get back to shooting the ball from beyond the arc - his best NBA season in that department came with the Clippers in a 14-for-30 campaign from 3-point land.

It is yet to be seen how Hartenstein will evolve in Oklahoma City, though with Chip Engelland in the fold perhaps the Thunder will unlock his shooting touch stretching the floor. OKC did the same thing with Jaylin Williams who entered the league as a non-shooter and it now stands as his second-best skill behind his electrifying passes.

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