The New York Knicks players still appear to have not recovered from the loss of center Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency.
After a breakout season with the Knicks, Hartenstein left in free agency to join the Oklahoma City Thunder on a three-year, $89 million contract.
Hartenstein had just signed a two-year, $16 million contract with the Knicks. Since the Knicks did not have all of Hartenstein’s Bird rights, they were limited in the raise they could give him; the most the Knicks could offer Hartenstein was a four-year, $72 million contract. Hartenstein chose the larger offer, the first major payday of his career.
In the podcast “Roommates”Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart have both lamented this strange NBA rule – where a player’s team can be capped in paying that player while an opposing team with salary cap space is not capped.
“I remember, Josh, we talked about it, that we had Isaiah, but we could only offer him a certain amount,” Brunson said. “But any other team could offer him whatever they wanted.”
“That makes no sense,” Hart replied.
Dallas Mavericks governor Mark Cuban, who was a guest on the podcast, noted that similar situations happen frequently in the NBA: A player develops with a team, then becomes too expensive for that team to keep him.
“That’s how it works sometimes in the NBA,” Cuban said.
“It’s the stupidest thing ever,” Brunson said.
Hart then joked that “not everyone is like Jalen” — that is, willing to take a massive cut for the team.
Hartenstein had said he hoped to stay with the Knicks, but the opportunity to make more money And Playing for a title contender with the Thunder was too good an offer. Hartenstein said Brunson spoke to him before his decision to try to convince him to stay with the Knicks.
Despite a solid offseason, Hartenstein’s departure looms large over the Knicks. The 26-year-old has proven to be a perfect player on both ends of the floor in New York. The Knicks still have Mitchell Robinson, Precious Achiuwa and Jericho Sims as their centers, but questions remain about their ability to stay on the court and their preparation for big playoff games.
