Isaiah Hartenstein, a ‘big dream’ for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, discusses decision to join Thunder

SACRAMENTO — In the days leading up to NBA free agency, Isaiah Hartenstein had a family situation that forced him to redirect his location from Texas to Oregon. He needed to visit his grandparents in Eugene. So all free-agency spots will either have to wait, go virtual or take a detour to the Pacific Northwest.

The Oklahoma City Thunder’s decision makers acted quickly. They had previously planned to take the quick flight down to Houston to beat Hartenstein, their top target. The itinerary was changed. Thunder general manager Sam Presti, head coach Mark Daigneault and their longtime lead medical voice, Donnie Strack, flew from Oklahoma City to Eugene.

“It’s not like I was in a nice little Los Angeles setup (like most NBA free-agent meetings),” Hartenstein shared Athletics. “We were at a random hotel in Eugene. Can’t remember the name.”

The gesture, to Hartenstein, “meant a lot,” given the family reasons that compelled it, a sign of both how the Thunder operated and how much they coveted him. On the team side, ranking mattered little given the potential reward. They would have faced Hartenstein anywhere, planting a large chunk of their available cap space on the table for a player that franchise face Shai Gilgeous-Alexander called a “dream big man for a marquee guy” late Monday night after the Thunder’s 130-109 win over the Sacramento Kings.

“I always knew what the organization was like from a distance,” Hartenstein said. “But to have them come out and present it all to me, explain how they wanted to play me, explain the culture, it was just something really exciting to me. It’s a young group of guys playing the right way , first in the West, and I felt that there was something I could bring that could really help.”

Hartenstein signed a hefty three-year, $87 million deal with some built-in team-friendly aspects. The deal drops from $30 million to $28.5 million from the first to the second season, and the third season is a team option, creating financial flexibility just as Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren will enter their expected big-money extensions.

It has been a steady rise for Hartenstein. He went to the Houston Rockets with the 43rd pick in the 2017 NBA Draft and bounced from the Denver Nuggets to the Cleveland Cavaliers to the LA Clippers in his first three seasons. He finally got some career traction as a rotation big on a 42-40 Clippers team back in the 2021-22 season. Analytics models loved him. The New York Knicks stole him away on a two-year, $16 million deal.

Hartenstein started in New York as a rugged center who could start or come off the bench, protect the rim at a high level, rebound like crazy, make better than 60 percent of his shots, burn defenses with his floater and blast open lanes with his physical screening. He was an important part of a great Knicks team.

Gilgeous-Alexander, the reserved but very observant star guard of the Thunder, watched from afar and took notice.

“To be honest with you, I watched the playoffs and I’m aware of contract situations around the league,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “So I kind of knew (about his availability) while he was playing. And then when I saw the Knicks making all those moves in the summer without him involved, I was kind of, ‘Hmm. . . .’

The Knicks made a big move for Mikal Bridges in late June and maintained a fairly public plan to also bring back OG Anunoby at a high price. Given the new CBA frontcourt rules, that limited how much they could pay Hartenstein, opening the door for Presti and the Thunder to break it down.

“I leave the front office stuff to Sam,” Gilgeous-Alexander said when asked if he made the call about it. “Really trusted him. Obviously he reads minds. So I didn’t have to say anything. … We knew as a group and the world kind of knew that there was a hole in us as a team last year. I I think Isaiah fills that hole very well. Sam did a great job of filling it. We’re better because of it.”

It has finally started to show in the last week. Hartenstein broke his hand in the preseason and missed the first 14 games. He returned from the bench and played 29 minutes in a home win over the Portland Trail Blazers, posting 13 points, 14 rebounds, three assists and four blocks. He then backed that up on Monday night with 19 points, 10 rebounds and four assists, sliding into the Thunder’s starting lineup as the lone healthy center as Holmgren recovers from a broken hip.

“Offensive rebounding, defensive rebounding, size in general,” Gilgeous-Alexander said when asked what Hartenstein adds. “A lot of times we’ve found ourselves doubling the post just because we’re undersized. We don’t have to that much more. You know, he’s very skilled, can pass. I’m sure you saw that today. He had one behind his back that fell down.”

Here the pass Gilgeous-Alexander is mentioned.

Hartenstein’s value feels outsized at this point given Holmgren’s injury status. The Thunder’s franchise center is currently on crutches and isn’t even expected to get a re-evaluation for nearly two months. A long absence awaits, and in the meantime, Hartenstein profiles as the starting center in an otherwise small-ball environment for a Thunder team that prefers to grab the top seed in the conference.

But Hartenstein chose the Thunder — and they targeted him — with Holmgren’s inclusion as part of the equation, believing both big men could not only survive but thrive on the court together. In their best theoretical playoff version, both pairs are in the front court for large parts of the game. That was part of their pitch — join a team that already has an elite franchise center because that’s not the only position he’ll play.

“Just knowing that he (Holmgren) can play the four, too, (appealed to me),” Hartenstein said. “Knowing that this wasn’t like a situation where I’m blocked. Or it’s like I’m not starting at all. It was a situation where I knew he could play the four. I can play the five .I felt that we could complement each other.”

They haven’t played another season together and won’t for the next few months. But Hartenstein and Holmgren shared some preseason minutes together, and the results were exciting.

“The rim protection is one thing,” Hartenstein said. “I feel like we’re two of the elite rim protectors in the league. We approach it a little differently. He probably needs more blocks. I’m more of a guy (whose impact is shown in) opponent’s field goal percentage around the rim.”

They engaged in a pair of dribble-passing acts in a preseason game against the San Antonio Spurs.

“It was really fun,” Hartenstein said.

Here is a clip. Daigneault called Hartenstein the best screener he ever coached, noting his craft and subtle tactics. That includes a situation like the one below where he blocks off a lane so Holmgren can drive and dunk after delivering the dribble.

The Thunder had the third-worst rebounding rate a season ago. It burned them in their second-round playoff loss to the Dallas Mavericks. They have the worst rebounding rate this season, playing a lot without a center. Hartenstein was added in part to help fix that. He is one of the league’s best rebounders.

Two games is far too small a sample for anything in the NBA, but the early results are positive. Hartenstein has played two games, grabbed 24 rebounds, and in those two games, the Thunder have a rebound rate of 53.8, fifth in the NBA during this mini-part of the schedule.

“I’m not coming in here to change anything they’re doing,” Hartenstein said. “I’m just here to improve everything I can. I mean, I’m just the player that I am. I’m trying to make everybody’s life easier. I’m going to rebound, help connect the team, facilitate, defend the bigger guys , protect the rim. So I just feel like there’s a lot of, like, different scenarios where I could help the team, but I’m not going to come in and change the way they play. I mean, they play anyway, like I like to play.”

It was part of the Thunder’s pitch in Eugene.

“I’m a very present day-to-day kind of guy,” Hartenstein said. “And that was the first thing they kind of mentioned: We’re not going to skip steps. That’s something that certain teams don’t do. They were honest and told me what they needed from me. And I felt that I could bring something to the team that was already first in the West that could really help them get over the hurdle.”

(Photo by Hartenstein: Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)