The 2024 postseason did not end how the New York Knicks would have hoped. Injuries severely limited their chances of making a deep postseason run. Despite that, the Knicks went all the way to Game 7 of the Conference semi-finals before losing to the Pacers. It was still an impressive postseason for New York with the players they had available.
This offseason, the Knicks have to decide what they want to do with big man Isaiah Hartenstein. He just finished the last season of a two-year deal he previously signed with the Knicks. Hartenstein will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason. Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer reported that the 26-year-old could receive up to $100 million in free agency this offseason.
Do the Knicks plan on keeping Isaiah Hartenstein this offseason?
Isaiah Hartenstein could receive up to $100M in free agency, per @JakeLFischer
“League executives and cap strategists are projecting Hartenstein will be able to draw at least $80 million, and perhaps upward of $100 million, from a team hoping to steal Hartenstein from Madison… pic.twitter.com/yl4qKF19GY
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) May 31, 2024
In the 2017 NBA Draft, Isaiah Hartenstein was a 2nd round pick by the Houston Rockets. He played for two seasons in Houston before joining the Cavs in 2020-21. The big man was traded at the deadline to the Nuggets. In 2021-22, Hartenstein signed a one-year deal to play for the Clippers. Following that season, he signed a two-year deal with the Knicks where Hartenstein saw the most playing time of his career. In 2022-23, he played in all 82 regular season games for the Knicks and made eight starts.
Isaiah Hartenstein started the 2023-24 season off the bench but filled in nicely for Mitchell Robinson when he went down in December. He played in 72 regular season games and made a career-high 49 starts. Hartenstein’s (25.3) minutes per game was also a career-high for the veteran center. Due to early bird rights, the Knicks can only offer Hartenstein a four-year, $72.5 million deal. Any rival team could double that number to as much as $151.6 million. Chances are he doesn’t fetch that much in free agency, but the number could still be north of $100 million.
Oklahoma City has been the potential destination most mentioned by team executives for Isaiah Hartenstein, per @JakeLFischer pic.twitter.com/EW3eu21dGv
— TF (@ThunderFocus) May 31, 2024
Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer said the Thunder have been mentioned frequently about potentially signing Isaiah Hartenstien. That would be an interesting move for OKC. Chet Holmgren played center for the Thunder this season but he’s capable of being a PF with his shot-making and athleticism. Hartenstein could play the more traditional center tole for OKC if they were to pick up the big man in free agency. This is all speculation and the Knicks might not have any interest in letting Hartenstein walk. We’ll have to wait until free agency negotiating windows open on June 30.
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