Yes, it's the offseason, but the Oklahoma City Thunder are still dealing with an injury: Isaiah Hartenstein hurt his ankle while training with Germany's national team. The German Basketball Federation announced that the center won't play for the country this summer, a decision he came to with OKC.
In about a month and a half, training camp will open, and in two months, the regular season will begin. One of the last things the Thunder needs to be hit with is an injury to one of its starters, one who just signed a new contract. It's unclear how severe Hartenstein's ankle injury is, but it was enough for him to pull back the reins and sit out the rest of the summer. That was the right call.
It's, of course, unfortunate for Hartenstein, who, as EuroHoops pointed out, last competed with Germany's national team in 2018. He has to play it safe, though, especially with the start of the season lurking around the corner.
Hopefully, it's not anything serious, and it doesn't seem like it is, as he will remain with the team, but just won't play.
Isaiah Hartenstein is dealing with an ankle injury
Oklahoma City couldn't escape injuries last season, from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander missing several weeks with an abdominal strain to Jalen Williams missing the majority of the playoffs and everything in between; the Thunder couldn't catch a break. That includes Hartenstein, who played just 47 games due to lower-leg injuries after playing 57 in his first season in OKC.
It's certainly not ideal that he's already on the before-the-season-even-starts injury report. If it's not anything that serious, it could mean only a couple of weeks of downtime, meaning Hartenstein could be cleared in time for training camp.
That's the best-case scenario; the worst would be the injury lingering into the start of the season, affecting his status. Not that you need the reminder, since the schedule just came out last week, but the Thunder will travel to take on the Spurs on opening night. Oklahoma City will need his size to have a chance to better match up against Victor Wembanyama.
It's not about opening night or the game after, when the Thunder will take on Nikola Jokić and the Nuggets (thanks for that, NBA!), but about keeping their players in the best shape possible throughout the regular season and into the playoffs.
That work starts in the offseason, and OKC is zooming out and looking at the big picture for Hartenstein. He'll have to miss playing with Germany, but that's better than aggravating his ankle and turning it into something worse.
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