Hartenstein has no hard feelings over leaving Rockets’ rotation

“I finally thought that I had cracked the rotation and was playing good enough, and they just thought it was better to go small ball.”

When the Houston Rockets traded for Robert Covington in early February and committed to a smaller lineup, outgoing center Clint Capela wasn’t the only big man directly impacted by the change in philosophy.

It also meant that 21-year-old seven-footer Isaiah Hartenstein — who appeared to have carved out a rotation role as the backup center less than a month earlier — was no longer in the team’s plans this season. GM Daryl Morey confirmed that fact at a fan forum in late March.

In a Facebook Q&A with broadcaster Craig Ackerman, Hartenstein admitted that it was a “tough situation” for him. However, he said he remains in full support of the team doing what it thinks is best to win games.

I’m in a tough situation where we went from where I was playing good, and then we went to small ball. I finally thought that I had cracked the rotation and was playing good enough, and they just thought it was better to go small ball. Whatever they think will help them win, I’ll support them whatever they do.

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Over a seven-game stint in Houston’s rotation from Dec. 28 through Jan. 11, Hartenstein averaged 9.3 points (67.4% shooting), 8.1 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks in 18.6 minutes as Mike D’Antoni‘s backup center.

But Hartenstein fell out of the rotation as the Rockets began downsizing in late January, and he was inactive for Houston’s last 10 games prior to the NBA’s current COVID-19 hiatus. In 14 starts for the G League’s Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the 2017 second-round pick is averaging 24.9 points (58.1% FG) and 14.8 rebounds in 32.6 minutes per game.

For the time being, Hartenstein told Ackerman that his biggest development priorities are improving his 3-point accuracy and his ability to defend on the perimeter in a switching scheme. He said the Rockets were honest with him about their change in philosophy, and he’s working to stay ready for when (or if) the next opportunity comes in Houston.

They just told me how it is, straight up. It wasn’t like a weird situation. I kind of figured it out when they traded Clint away, that they would probably go small ball. They keep telling me stay ready. It wasn’t a situation where I’m going to stop working and pout around. You never know what will happen. Maybe one game someone fouls out, or maybe they change their minds. To me, it’s just about staying ready for whenever that next opportunity comes.

For this season, another factor working against Hartenstein is the calendar. The Rockets are unlikely to have many regular-season games to play, if any, following the COVID-19 hiatus, which makes any drastic change to the team’s rotation or playing style difficult to envision (barring injury).

However, the Rockets do hold a team option on Hartenstein’s contract at a very inexpensive salary figure of $1.7 million for the 2020-21 season. Thus, he might still get another opportunity down the road. For his part, Hartenstein is focused on what he can control, and he says there are no hard feelings over his removal from the NBA team’s rotation in 2019-20.

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