Since signing with the OKC Thunder during the 2024 free agency period, Isaiah Hartenstein has established himself as a crucial piece of coach Mark Daigneault's rotation.
With his menacing rim-protection skills, elite rebounding prowess, and underrated passing chops, the 27-year-old's services proved to be truly invaluable during the club's title run last season.
Without him playing such a key role, there's a strong case to be made that Oklahoma City may not have ended up with the Larry O'Brien Trophy. In fact, fans saw firsthand how this could have been the case during the throes of the championship round.
Yet, despite his well-known importance to this team and continuously growing rapport with frontcourt running mate Chet Holmgren, it's becoming increasingly likely that 2025-26 will wind up being his last year with the Thunder.
Isaiah Hartenstein is likely heading into final season with OKC Thunder
Technically, Hartenstein is under contract through both this upcoming season and the next one. When agreeing to terms on his deal with OKC just last summer, the accepted pact was that he'd be paid $87 million over a three-year stretch.
However, only $58.5 million of this payday is guaranteed, as his third-year, $28.5 million salary is under club control.
Even though Hartenstein has already shown that he's more than worthy of staying put for all years of his deal, sadly, with the new-age fear of crippling tax penalties and, more specifically, the dreaded second apron, tough decisions will need to be made sooner or later about ways in which the Thunder can cut costs.
Following the spending spree they went on this offseason, Oklahoma City will undoubtedly need to brainstorm ways to bypass these handicaps.
Sadly, opting out of Hartenstein's third year seems to be the most obvious first step toward doing so.
With all 15 roster spots filled heading into this year's campaign, the team still has some wiggle room between its cap situation and the tax line. As they make their way into 2026-27, however, they're currently on pace to be roughly $24 million over the second apron, which is set at $222,372,000.
Though there are several Thunder players who have team options for that very season that, if opted out of, could help bring down the team's expenses, the reality is I-Hart's payday is by far the most lucrative and, in turn, would be the logical choice to part ways with.
No matter how painful it may be to hear, barring an unforeseen turn of events, Hartenstein is staring at his final run out in the Sooner State.