Knicks unable to fill gap of $11,000,000 per year in Isaiah Hartenstein offering: Report
The New York Knicks' offer for Isaiah Hartenstein reportedly couldn't compare to the offer made by the OKC Thunder. Given their cap situation, and the acquisition of Mikal Bridges, the team reportedly offered Hartenstein a four-year $72.4 million contract according to Sportrac. On the flip side, the OKC Thunder offered the young big man a deal worth $29 million per year.
Hartenstein accepted, parting ways with the Knicks after just two seasons. During that time, he emerged as a defensive standout, averaging 7.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.1 blocks, and 1.2 steals per game over 25.3 minutes played. Given his stats, some Knicks fans felt that a bigger offer from NY would be overpaying.
Despite that, the Thunder see value in the defensive-minded center, signing him to a deal worth $87 million over three years. While some Knicks fans expressed that they felt OKC overpaid, given that New York had previously hoped to retain him, the team now has some holes to fill.
Spotrac shed light on the Knicks' offer to Hartenstein in a post on Twitter/X on Tuesday:
"The #Knicks were limited to a 4 year, $72.4M contract offer for Isaiah Hartenstein based on the 75% raise rule. They made the $18M+ per year offer, but had no chance to compete with OKC's eventual $29M per year deal."
Looking at how the New York Knicks can fill the gap left by Isaiah Hartenstein
Heading into this offseason, re-signing Isaiah Hartenstein was a priority for the Knicks. After a postseason largely defined by injuries, the hope seemed to be that New York would be able to retain most of their key players, while adding complementary pieces to bolster their roster.
Despite starting the offseason with a blockbuster acquisition of Mikal Bridges, the loss of Isaiah Hartenstein could prove problematic for their frontcourt. Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson both dealt with injuries last year that sidelined them for key games.
In addition, the team will have to get creative while dancing around the salary cap, however, there are several centers available who could prove valuable without breaking the bank.
Most notably, reports have indicated that the team is looking to bring back Precious Achiuwa, who played valuable minutes last year. According to Fred Katz of The Athletic:
"One name to watch is Precious Achiuwa, the unrestricted free agent who filled in admirably as a backup center and power forward for the Knicks this past season.
"New York chose not to extend a qualifying offer to Achiuwa, which would have made him a restricted free agent but made that decision purely because it was better for the team's cap flexibility."
Despite that, Achiuwa has drawn interest from several other teams, meaning New York could wind up in another bidding war as they look to bolster their frontcourt.