Unexpectedly, in the first 24 hours of the free agent market, the real finale was presented by the Thunder.
After renewing the team's contract with substitute Aaron Wiggins, the Thunder, who had no worries, immediately made a big move:
The Thunder poached Hartenstein, who performed well in the Knicks this year, with a super offer of $87 million over three years, to make up for the team's weakest interior shortcoming!
This contract is beyond everyone's expectations, you must know that Harden's old club Knicks can only make an offer of $72.5 million for 4 years at most, and many people are still speculating whether the Thunder will give Harden the same offer as Zhao Si to renew the Nets (100 million for 4 years).
As a result, the Thunder directly made a big move, 87 million in 3 years, with an average salary of nearly $30 million, so that other opponents such as the Knicks did not have the courage to follow up at all.
That would make it possible for the Thunder to become a hat-cap team for the first time since 2019, but it's all worth it. After all, they are already number one in the West this year, sitting on MVP contender Alexander, and now it's time for them to stud.
In this year's playoffs, the Thunder suffered enough losses in the game against the Mavericks. Although Holmgren is good enough, the team can't even find a qualified substitute for him, and often the team's highest on his game is Alexander at 1.98m.
And the Mavericks also relied on the excellent play of Lively and Gafford on the inside, always suppressing the Thunder in confrontation and rebounding, and finally relied on the absolute advantage in size. In the end, it was a 4-2 gram.
Lack of strength on the inside. It is a shortcoming that the Thunder must strengthen in the offseason.
And after sending Josh Giddey to the Bulls in exchange for "defensive expert" Caruso, almost everyone knows that the Thunder's first target is Knicks center Hartenstein, who has performed well in the playoffs this year.
The 26-year-old German center, who sat on the bench with Zhou Qi on the Rockets that year, seized a precious opportunity to take advantage of the injury of the main center Michelle Robinson this season, impressed head coach Thibodeau, and became the team's interior pillar.
He played in 75 games (including 49 starts) in the regular season, contributing 7.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.1 blocks in 25.3 minutes.
The playoffs went one step further, not just all starts. Played 29.8 minutes in 13 games, scoring 8.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists.
His outstanding defensive and rebounding abilities, as well as his excellent pick-and-roll and playmaking on offense, make him one of the best backup centers in the league on a par with Nazel Kidd.
Now his arrival can not only form a two-tower starter with Holmgren, but also rotate the two on the court, so that the Thunder can always maintain a sufficient height on the court and no longer be constrained everywhere in the confrontation.
This is a strategic reinforcement that will affect the pattern of the western region.
Presty, who has endured for many years, has been constantly "collecting rags" in the trading market, accumulating small amounts and gathering sand into a tower, has finally become the most bold big buyer this year.
The Thunder in the new season is undoubtedly one of the favorites to win the championship in the West.