NBA sources drop 2-word take on desires of Thunder to pursue 7-footer in free agency

The OKC Thunder will have roughly $35.3 million in cap space to work with this offseason, which ranks them within the top five across the association in such a category.

With this, the hope among the fanbase is that they'll look to use said capital on bringing in a player who can help add some much-needed size to their frontcourt rotation while also signing players whose game meshes with how coach Mark Daigneault's squad has shown to operate.

As of late, a popular name being floated around as a plausible option for Oklahoma City to pursue is New York Knicks center, Isaiah Hartenstein, who Bleacher Report's Zach Buckley recently deemed a "realistic" target for the franchise.

Earlier this week, Stefan Bondy of the New York Post took things a step further when it comes to the conversation of a Hartenstein signing, as he revealed that his league sources informed him that the Thunder are, in fact, interested in such an idea, as they informed him "It's real" when discussing the club's desires for a pursuit.

NBA sources say 'It's real" when talking Thunder's interest in Hartenstein

On top of this, Bondy would note in his piece that the Thunder are being "viewed by NBA sources as the top threat to pry Hartenstein away from the Knicks in free agency" and could "use a hard-nosed center like Hartenstein," especially after putting forth a career-best campaign where he posted averages of 7.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.1 blocks.

He would only up his productivity under the bright lights of the NBA Playoffs -- something the Thunder's assortment of bigs can't say themselves --, where he averaged 8.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and just shy of a block on 59.2 percent shooting from the floor and 50.0 percent shooting from distance while filling in for the injured Mitchell Robinson.

Of course, with this uptick in production comes the increase in his projected asking price on the open market, which, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, could be "at least $80 million, and perhaps upward of $100 million."

However, while such a payday seems quite steep for someone who's been utilized as a career role player up to this point, considering their high-end spending power heading into the offseason, the Thunder could easily afford to cough up such coin should they feel he'd be an ideal addition to their frontcourt rotation next to Chet Holmgren.

According to Bondy and his sources, not only does Oklahoma City seem to view him as such, but they themselves are viewed as the biggest threat to swiping Hartenstein away from the Knickerbockers this summer.