According to The Athletic's Shams Charania, the Oklahoma City Thunder have agreed with free agent Isaiah Hartenstein that Hartenstein will sign the Thunder to a three-year, $87 million contract. The details of the contract have not yet been disclosed, but given that the Thunder's offer to Hartenstein already has a premium, and the Thunder will have to face extensions from Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren in the summer of 2026, we can boldly predict that the third year of Hartenstein's contract is likely to be partially guaranteed or a team option. In addition to that, we can't rule out the possibility that the Thunder have offered Hartenstein a contract that decreases year by year.
In the NBA regular season this season, Hartenstein played a total of 75 games for the Knicks, averaging 25.3 minutes per game, averaging 7.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.1 blocks per game, shooting 64.4% from the field, 33.3% from three-point range, and 70.7% from the free throw line. In the playoffs, Hartenstein played a total of 13 games for the team, averaging 29.8 minutes per game, averaging 8.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 0.3 steals and 0.9 blocks per game, shooting 59.2% from the field, 50% from three-point range, and 86.4% from the free throw line.
Previously, Hartenstein's old club New York Knicks completed a big deal for Mikal Bridges (Mikal Bridges), because Bridges's salary was greater than Bojan Bogdanovic (Bojan Bogdanovic), the Knicks were hard capped by the first local tycoon, plus the Knicks gave OG Anunoby (OG Anunoby) a huge contract with a starting salary of more than $36 million, As a direct result, the team no longer has any salary space to keep Hartenstein. In this case, the Thunder didn't pay too much and signed him without much competition.
With Hartenstein being the Thunder's number one target for interior reinforcements, and another potential target, Nicolas Claxton, signing an early contract extension with the Brooklyn Nets before free agency opening, the Knicks have one less target, and in this case, Hartenstein has become a player they aspire to. With the arrival of Hartenstein, the Thunder's interior line finally has enough hardness, and Chet has a player next to him who can help him take the pressure off his defense. I don't know if the Thunder's performance next season can be further improved after strengthening this link. I don't know what the details of Hartenstein's contract are, and will there be a mystery hidden in the contract given by the Thunder?