New Thunder Player Can Make Unique Impact Within Team's Offense

The Oklahoma City Thunder will get an offensive boost with Isaiah Hartenstein in the lineup.

Isaiah Hartenstein is pictured during the Thunder media day at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, on Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. / NATHAN J. FISH/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Oklahoma City Thunder took the league by storm a season ago. Those who didn't previously follow the franchise closely didn't understand why they were able to burst onto the scene. Now, they've arrived and the Thunder officially have expectations rolling into a new season.

This offseason, after the club won 57 games, they made two crucial moves to improve their roster. They traded Josh Giddey for Alex Caruso without gutting any draft capital. They then went into free agency and signed Isaiah Hartenstein to a three-year deal.

The 7-footer comes from a solid situation with the New York Knicks, which saw him play a prominent role in a solid playoff run. Now, he'll have the opportunity to do so in Oklahoma City. How will he do so? Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault believes his screening ability will help him propel Oklahoma City's offense.

"He really understands angles and who he's playing with. If you watch his behavior with Brunson, it's different than how he'd play with DiVicenzo," Daigneault explained.

The best screen-setters in the league understand the angles at which they set them. For different players, as Daigneault alluded to, different angles are needed to suit that player. For Hartenstein, his screen-setting abilities will be immensely useful to the likes of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams, who will both be making plenty of plays with the ball in their hands.

Williams, himself, knows just how impactful those screens are. He's been hit by them before, and now he'll benefit from them.

"I've been hit by his screens before -- I know they create a lot of space," Williams explained.

Sure, the passing and vision with the ball in his hands are a plus, and him shooting the ball with more volume will help the offense, but expect his screens to make a large offensive impact for a team that likes to drive to the cup with incredible volume.

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