In Oklahoma City on Saturday, Hartenstein said he’s excited to expand his game
After Isaiah Hartenstein signed his contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder (which will pay him $30 million next season and $28.5 million in 2025-26, with a $28.5 million team option in 2026-27) on Saturday, the 26-year-old big man said it was tough to leave the New York Knicks. Hartenstein had the best season of his career in New York, which set him up to sign a more lucrative deal than Leon Rose’s front office could have offered.
“If I’m honest, it was hard,” Hartenstein told reporters. “I mean, I love my teammates out in New York. I really appreciate what [coach Tom Thibodeau] and Leon did for me. The fans in New York showed a lot of love.”
Hartenstein spent most of his first media session in Oklahoma City, though, discussing all the reasons he’s happy to be there. From afar, he said, he has been a fan of the Thunder’s culture, coach and core players for some time. “The style of play, I think, really fits me,” he said, noting that he’s one of the league’s best passing bigs and “they have a lot of guys who cut.” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault’s process-oriented approach impressed Hartenstein, and the offense will give him a chance to show off his basketball IQ.
“I felt like I could really expand my game here,” Hartenstein said. “Just especially talking to Mark, how open-minded he is. So it’s really exciting for me, and then just defensively, I think I can still bring a lot to the team. I mean, I feel like they were really good last year, but then bringing [Alex] Caruso and myself in, I think we hope we’ll take another step in that.”
Hartenstein plans to keep working on his shot, get even more comfortable with the ball in his hands and continue improving as a defender, he told reporters. He said that he believes he can get “back to the shooting aspect” of his game with the Thunder, just like he reemphasized his previously dormant passing passing during his second season with the Knicks.
Asked about playing with big man Chet Holmgren, who almost exclusively played center last season, Hartenstein said that it would not be easy for opponents to score with “two of the top rim protectors on the court at the same time.” Holmgren is “one of most talented bigs in the NBA,” he said, “so me and him on the court together, I think it’s going to be very deadly, so I’m excited about that.”
Hartenstein added, “I’ll have to do a little bit more of the dirty work, so he can chill a little bit.”
For Oklahoma City, Hartenstein made sense because his skill set addresses its weaknesses without compromising its strengths. The Thunder can still play Holmgren at the 5 and lean into their drive-and-kick game, but, when Hartenstein is on the floor, they can give opponents a different look. They didn’t sign him just to protect the rim and rebound; they saw how he could open things up offensively as a handoff hub, a short-roll playmaker and threat to score with floaters and dunks. On Saturday, Oklahoma City general manager Sam Presti told reporters that Hartenstein’s presence will transform the Thunder from an “unorthodox” team to a “more diverse” one.
“His game doesn’t conflict with the development of our core players,” Presti said.
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