[Woj] Free agent C Isaiah Hartenstein has agreed on a three-year, $87 million deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder

[NoStatsGuy]

They don't have a point and don't know what "elaborate" means.

wrong. my point is, that hes a backup / role player and not some all star, which the money would indicate.

Lo Wang is trying to troll with his "elevated" eloquence and sweaterbae needs to improve their reading comprehension. Thats why i dont really feel like further elaborating, your request is not genuine.

You're clueless. Allstars make $50,000,000 today. The only reason you're in this thread is because your team lost a guy you wanted to keep and now you're pumping copiuim. The fact that you can't comprehend why he fits well, and is only on a 3 year deal, is embarrassing.

dude.. i even said, its a good signing. thanks for proving my point

[SelfishPlayer]

Jim Mcilvaine 2.0?

Watch on YouTube

[SelfishPlayer]

Jon Koncak 2.0?

Watch on YouTube

[magee]

Even though I like Hartenstein I’m not a huge fan of this move for a few reasons.

-OKC had the 3rd best offense in the league last year. Now they’ll be playing a non-shooting C more and that might hurt them. Their system is built on spacing and attacking and Hartenstein isn’t an ideal fit.

Clipped this quote. Isaiah can shoot 3's. It wasn't asked of him in New York to.

[Lo Wang]

Jon Koncak 2.0?

Watch on YouTube

These videos do not seem to play on my browser for some reason.

*Edit

NM, I was able to click on the link to watch the video. However, this comparison is somewhat flawed because Hartenstein is a system player. Despite average stats and a high salary, his fit is similar to Lively's on the Mavericks: he fills a specific need as a strong rebounder (averaging 8.3 rebounds last season), and he uses his height and wingspan well for defense.

Last season, Hartenstein had the NBA's 2nd highest offensive rebounding rate, grabbing 14.4% of his team's missed shots. He sets effective screens for Jalen Brunson, and is expected to do the same for SGA. With Hartenstein on the Knicks last year, opponents scored 6.4% fewer points when he played. The team allowed just 111.8 points per 100 possessions, which would have ranked New York third in defensive efficiency over a full season.

In the competitive West, being strong on defense is crucial, and Hartenstein helps fill those gaps for the Thunder, making them a serious threat. He doesn't need big numbers; it is the same thing as adding Jrue to the Celtics. Shai, Chet, and JDub are going to carry the offensive load. Hartenstein only needs to man the middle, screen, rebound, and protect the rim.

[magee]

The money is entirely irrelevant unless it costs them any of their key guys, which is hasn’t.

OKC are now ready to compete for the ‘25 season and for the foreseeable future.

THIS.

Due to parity in the league and how that has created a "styles makes fights" in the playoffs, OKC has built themselves to counter who they play. If they really wanted to say "**** it were laying the hammer on everyone's bitch ass," they're dealing for Lauri Markkanen.

[slick_watts]

okay okay i understand everybody loves iHart right now. rightfully so. and i would never hold it against him taking that deal.

but you guys need to chill, the dude got ate up in the playoffs.
He gets you boards, he can pass and he will dive on the floor for lose balls. but thats really it.

lets pump the breaks the guy is a backup/fringe starter. people here acting like OKC just signed prime shaq

i think at least part of the excitement is okc springing for a big free agent signing at all. prior to hartenstein, the biggest external UFA the thunder have ever signed is probably patrick patterson. there was a lot of expectation that sam presti would use the cap space he had similarly as before (front loading a caruso extension, taking a bad salary with picks, etc.), i'm not sure anyone expected him to be this aggressive. i think it's ok to be excited and to 'act like' okc just signed prime shaq. for the thunder and considering their spending habits over the years, it almost feels that way.

hartestein is a really great player who fills a huge void on the thunder (even if he might complicate things next to chet). i don't think there's any need to pump the brakes.

[DimesandKnicks]

Even though I like Hartenstein I’m not a huge fan of this move for a few reasons.

-OKC had the 3rd best offense in the league last year. Now they’ll be playing a non-shooting C more and that might hurt them. Their system is built on spacing and attacking and Hartenstein isn’t an ideal fit.

Clipped this quote. Isaiah can shoot 3's. It wasn't asked of him in New York to.

So can Kendrick Perkins, but not good enough to actually shoot them in games. He wasn’t asked to do it because he isn’t good at it

[Iwasawitness]

Damn.

OKC is crazy talented.

Some crazy stats:

They have 2 of the best guards in steals (Shai is #1, Caruso #2).

They have 2 players that are the best at locking down stars (Dort, Caruso).

With Hartenstein on the floor for 1,896 minutes, the Knicks are allowing 110.3 points per 100 possessions, a number that would rank second in the NBA.

Chet is ranked #2 in blocks and #5 in defensive rating.

I want OKC/Knicks in the Finals next year.

[ConSarnit]

Even though I like Hartenstein I’m not a huge fan of this move for a few reasons.

-OKC had the 3rd best offense in the league last year. Now they’ll be playing a non-shooting C more and that might hurt them. Their system is built on spacing and attacking and Hartenstein isn’t an ideal fit.

Clipped this quote. Isaiah can shoot 3's. It wasn't asked of him in New York to.

Can he? He’s 30% from 3 for his career on an incredibly low number of attempts. He took a career high number of attempts in 22/23 so I’m not sure how he wasn’t asked to do it in NYK. He’s also a sub 70% free throw shooter. Maybe there is something there but I’m dubious. He’s never taken more than 0.5 3pa in his career.

[bronxknicksfan1]

okay okay i understand everybody loves iHart right now. rightfully so. and i would never hold it against him taking that deal.

but you guys need to chill, the dude got ate up in the playoffs.
He gets you boards, he can pass and he will dive on the floor for lose balls. but thats really it.

lets pump the breaks the guy is a backup/fringe starter. people here acting like OKC just signed prime shaq

What a nonsense post. Nobody is acting like he's Shaq. Like seriously, saying crap like that is what derails threads and prevents intelligent discourse. He's a great fit for OKC and it's super duper easy to comprehend that if you aren't insanely biased. Oh look, Knicks fan.

He can be a great fit and still be a backup type of player

We loved him in NY, but when healthy, Mitch was always the starter ahead of him.

It’s very likely he won’t even be in the closing lineups in OKC. Their closing lineup will probably be Shai/Caruso/Dort/JDub/Chet

[lonzo_pelota]

Bag Secured.

[Gusto1903]

Thats my homie ;_;

[thelead]

Some REALLY bad takes in here

[The Servant]

Just needed a big body for some overlap with Chet when line ups need it and a solid defensive back up C. Surrounding the front court with Dort, SGA, Williams, Caruso and Cason Wallace is gonna be nice. Exactly what OKC was lacking in certain match ups. Great signing for a team that doesn't make noise in FA, especially a front loaded deal that allows flexibility down the line.

[Ssj16]

I'll be the first to admit that I wasn't a full believer in Boston's team last year but clearly they showed a blue print for putting solid role players with 2 top 15 -20ish players and having a solid 1 through 7.

It's weird after seeing this blueprint work masterfully that there are people crapping on this move by OKC in signing a very solid role player.

[madskillz8]

I think what we are missing here is the opportunity cost of the move rather than the actual value it brings.

OKC was in a unique situation with their 2nd and 3rd best players in rookie contracts and they have lots of FRPs. They could have made a big trade to be a serious contender while keeping their own picks - instead they overpaid Hartenstein and will pay Caruso soon. Sorry but I still don't see the resulting roster as a WC favorite, and they are clearly one tier below than Boston. .

At the time Hartenstein contract expires, they would already be capped out with the extensions of Jdub and Chet, and adding big name to 3 max contracts would be very tricky, if their big three somehow cannot develop much together. There was a big opportunity for OKC to contend for an extended period of time and they missed it by signing Hartenstein.

[SelfishPlayer]

I'll be the first to admit that I wasn't a full believer in Boston's team last year but clearly they showed a blue print for putting solid role players with 2 top 15 -20ish players and having a solid 1 through 7.

It's weird after seeing this blueprint work masterfully that there are people crapping on this move by OKC in signing a very solid role player.

The Celtics had THREE guys average over 20 ppg last season. That's historically rare.

[SelfishPlayer]

Jon Koncak 2.0?

Watch on YouTube

These videos do not seem to play on my browser for some reason.

*Edit

NM, I was able to click on the link to watch the video. However, this comparison is somewhat flawed because Hartenstein is a system player. Despite average stats and a high salary, his fit is similar to Lively's on the Mavericks: he fills a specific need as a strong rebounder (averaging 8.3 rebounds last season), and he uses his height and wingspan well for defense.

Last season, Hartenstein had the NBA's 2nd highest offensive rebounding rate, grabbing 14.4% of his team's missed shots. He sets effective screens for Jalen Brunson, and is expected to do the same for SGA. With Hartenstein on the Knicks last year, opponents scored 6.4% fewer points when he played. The team allowed just 111.8 points per 100 possessions, which would have ranked New York third in defensive efficiency over a full season.

In the competitive West, being strong on defense is crucial, and Hartenstein helps fill those gaps for the Thunder, making them a serious threat. He doesn't need big numbers; it is the same thing as adding Jrue to the Celtics. Shai, Chet, and JDub are going to carry the offensive load. Hartenstein only needs to man the middle, screen, rebound, and protect the rim.

He wasn't a full time starter.

[ShootersShoot]

I'll be the first to admit that I wasn't a full believer in Boston's team last year but clearly they showed a blue print for putting solid role players with 2 top 15 -20ish players and having a solid 1 through 7.

It's weird after seeing this blueprint work masterfully that there are people crapping on this move by OKC in signing a very solid role player.

The Celtics had THREE guys average over 20 ppg last season. That's historically rare.

Wouldnt be surprised to see the the thunder have 3 guys over 20ppg within the next few years.