The Oklahoma City Thunder will fly out to Oregon to meet with Isaiah Hartenstein in a free-agent meeting, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
He described it as an aggressive pitch by OKC. Hartenstein is a perfect fit in OKC at the backup center spot. He could shore up its size and rebounding woes.
Hartenstein had a breakout year last season with the New York Knicks. He took over the starting center spot for them once Mitchell Robinson went down and was a starter for 49 out of 75 games.
The 26-year-old averaged 7.8 points on 64.4% shooting, 8.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.1 blocks. He was a starter in their playoff run.
The Thunder have $30 million in cap space to spend this offseason. They will likely sign Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins to extensions. OKC declined the duo’s cheap options for next season.
If the Thunder adds Hartenstein, it will likely be a short-term deal. The Thunder must clear up cap space in two years once the impending extensions of Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams kick in.
With cap space teams Orlando focused on wing free agents and Utah focused on current roster decisions, and Knicks working to un-hardcap — sources say the OKC Thunder are in Eugene, Oregon, set to meet with Isaiah Hartenstein.
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— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 30, 2024
