After a breakout season last year, Isaiah Hartenstein collected a hefty pay raise with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The 26-year-old turned from an unknown 2017 second-round selection to one of the best backup centers in the league.
Hartenstein accomplished this by being a stellar traditional center with the New York Knicks. The seven-footer used his frame to dunk and finish around the basket. He has a soft touch in the form of a patent floater.
Hartenstein can also crash the glass and should be a massive help on the boards for OKC. He grades out as an elite rim protector that can roam the paint. He’s also an underrated passer and can facilitate out of the high post.
But just because he had a career season last year with the Knicks doesn’t mean he’s done developing. The 26-year-old flirted with the possibility of reintroducing his outside shot.
Hartenstein is a career 27-of-87 (31%) from 3 in his six seasons but only attempted three outside shots last year. The shot looks decent but the serious lack of attempts could change in OKC if that’s something both sides want to explore.
“I think you’re an NBA player, you have to adapt to certain roles, and that’s what I had to do in New York,” Hartenstein said. “I think my passing only came out probably last year, so my first year I had to adapt to a certain role.”
Hartenstein wants to be a versatile center who can do whatever is asked of him. His playmaking from last season — where he averaged a career-high 2.5 assists — is the latest example.
“That was something that I felt like I can really bring, expand my game as I was talking about before, just getting back to the shooting aspect,” Hartenstein said. “Because before I was shooting it, so it’s really just getting back to that and being more versatile because that’s kinda what the team needs.”
It’ll be quite the curveball to add to Hartenstein’s repertoire. It’d be a shocker to see him blossom into an outside shooter at this stage of his career. It’s happened before with someone like Brook Lopez, but that’s more of an anomaly than replicable.
Instead, Hartenstein’s hypothetical outside shots should be rerouted to other players like Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams. They both are seen as legitimate outside shooters that opposing defenses will scout for more.
It’d be a neat trick to have on the Thunder that can be Plan Z if a possession lacks cohesiveness, but what Hartenstein did these last two seasons with the Knicks is exactly what OKC needs.
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