NBA 2023/24 is a great season for Isaiah Hartenstein personally. He took advantage of Mitchell Robinson’s long-term injury to occupy the main center position at the New York Knicks, from December 2023 until the end of the season.
In 49 major matches, Hartenstein averaged 8.7 points, 9.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.2 blocks per game with a shooting efficiency of 64%. But don’t be fooled by the above modest stats, Hartenstein really made a huge impact at Madison Square Garden.
Hartenstein protected the area under the basket for the Knicks very well. He also creates space for his teammates thanks to his excellent “pick and roll” moves. Not only that, Hartenstein is also a good partner for Jalen Brunson, a defender with excellent offensive ability, but weak on defense.
After a successful season, Hartenstein entered the free transfer market with the expectation of receiving a larger contract. However, which team will Hartenstein join and what kind of benefits will he receive?
Re-signing Hartenstein is a top priority for the Knicks. However, with the current salary budget, the Knicks cannot make too big an offer for Hartenstein, while some teams do not have cap space this summer.
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What can the Knicks offer Hartenstein?
The Knicks have Hartenstein’s “Early Bird Right”, meaning the team from New York can go over the salary cap to sign him to a new contract. However, the Knicks will not be able to offer Hartenstein too high a salary increase.
According to SNY’s Ian Begley, the maximum the Knicks can offer Hartenstein is a four-year contract worth $72 million. Begley reported that retaining Hartenstein is a top priority for the Knicks. Hartenstein himself also publicly said that he wanted to stay in New York.
Will the Knicks be able to keep Hartenstein?
According to Spotrac, there are currently 13 players listed as strikers with an average salary of 18 million USD or more. Those are Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid and Anthony Davis, but the bottom of that list includes players like Clint Capela, Myles Turner, Jarrett Allen, Nikola Vucevic and Jakob Poeltl.
If the Knicks offer Hartenstein a contract worth 72 million USD over 4 years, it means that other teams, if they want the 26-year-old striker, must make an offer larger than 18 million USD/year. How many teams are willing to pay such a large salary for a classic, purely defensive striker?
Some teams with empty salary funds to bring Hartenstein in include the Philadelphia 76ers, Orlando Magic, Oklahoma City Thunder, Toronto Raptors, Detroit Pistons and Utah Jazz.
The 76ers are always quite fragile and easily defeated whenever Joel Embiid is injured. Therefore, their goal in the summer of 2024 is to find a backup center forward for Embiid. However, are the 76ers willing to spend a large amount of money on a reserve player who cannot play alongside Embiid?
Meanwhile, Thunder is also a team that has problems with rebounding ability. However, can they afford to spend big money on Hartenstein, knowing that the team will likely end up playing games with Chet Holmgren at center more often than for the Knicks’ center?
With Magic, they already have a lot of “big men” – so Hartenstein is not necessarily a necessary option for them.
As for the Pistons, they are ready to give Hartenstein a big contract. However, is the 26-year-old striker willing to give up his budding peak to play for a rebuilding team like the Pistons?
Is a short-term contract the best option?
Hartenstein has another option, which is to sign a short-term contract and then return to the transfer market a few years later.
If so, the Knicks could try offering Hartenstein a two-year contract worth $32 million. This offer gave Hartenstein an immediate raise, and the opportunity to return to the free market again after two years, at the age of 28. At that time, he will have full “Bird Right” and receive bigger contracts.
However, it is unlikely that other teams are interested in Hartenstein. Can any club afford to spend $50 million/2 years for Hartenstein? That is a large amount of money, which can ruin the salary budget plans of many clubs. Meanwhile, Hartenstein is a pure striker with limited offensive ability.
With the Knicks’ salary budget swelling, they cannot give Hartenstein a contract that is too large. Therefore, a short-term contract with a high salary is a good solution for everyone.
In the new NBA era, where high-quality players are becoming increasingly valuable, Hartestein’s future will be an interesting test case of the importance of a starting, but not star, center. in the team.
