The OKC Thunder landed arguably the most highly touted free agent big man this summer in Isaiah Hartenstein, as they snatched up the 26-year-old on a three-year, $87 million deal on day two of the festivities.
Despite frequently expressing his love for his former employers in the New York Knicks, even going as far as to state on record "I love it here, and hopefully, we’ll figure something out," in the end, he opted to take his talents out to Loud City and, during a recent sit down with Stefan Bondy of the New York Post, he discussed why he decided to bolt out west.
Isaiah Hartenstein explains his reasoning for signing with Thunder
As revealed early on in his piece, had an offer as lucrative as the one the Thunder shelled out come from any other team, Hartenstein noted that he "would have re-signed with the Knicks at a discount."
However, considering his worth on the open market had blossomed to exponential heights following a career season in 2023-24 -- which was projected to be between "$80 million, and perhaps upward of $100 million" --, the center told The Post that the allure of cashing in while also putting himself in a legitimate position to compete for a championship was too good to pass up on.
"I was going to make sure I was set for the rest of my life. But then at the same time, if it wasn’t a team like OKC, I would’ve taken a pay cut because I loved it (in New York). But I now have an opportunity to make that money, make that pay raise, and still compete. I think that was the main factor."Isaiah Hartenstein
Hartenstein would continue on by acknowledging that his Knicks teammates "really wanted me back and I really appreciate that," though admitted that the opportunity the Thunder presented him with was something "I couldn’t say no to," though noted that leaving New York, even with this truth of the matter, "was definitely a hard decision."
Big Hart block turns into a Quickley 3️⃣ pic.twitter.com/FxJeaGplFc
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) November 25, 2023
Hartenstein's situation with the Thunder is something that key role players such as himself likely covet, for not only do they have cap space to pay up with, but they're coming off a top-seeded finish in the Western Conference standings, just advanced to their first Semifinal appearance in nearly a decade, and are heading into the 2024-25 season with the second-best odds of winning a title.
On top of this, the club seemed to be in serious need of someone with the big man's skill set and physique last season, as they were severely lacking in size in the frontcourt and in the rebounding department (ranked 27 in boards per game in 2023-24).
The 7-foot-1, 250 pound Hartenstein heads into his debut campaign with the Thunder fresh off a career-best run with the Knicks where he dropped averages of 7.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.1 blocks while shooting 64.4 percent from the floor.