It sure looks like the New York Knicks regret losing backup center Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency last summer.
Knicks: Isaiah Hartenstein’s playing lights out for the Thunder
The Sporting News’ Colin Keane delved into what could have been for the Knicks had they retained Hartenstein next to their new All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns. Hartenstein is enjoying a career-year with the Oklahoma City Thunder this season. The 7-footer is averaging 11.4 points, 11.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and one block per game for the Thunder.
Hartenstein would have been solution for Knicks’ woes
New York has needed a domineering presence down low all season long. Despite Towns’ MVP-level play, the Knicks rank No. 24 in the league with 43 rebounds per game.
Further, the Knicks own the fourth-worst blocks differential (1.1 blocks per game). Taking that into account, Hartenstein’s high-motor crashing the boards and protecting the rim could have been a difference-maker in many games for the ball club this season.
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New York’s Early Bird rights, coupled with the Collective Bargaining Agreement, prevented them from offering the former second-round pick any more than a four-year, $72.5 million deal last offseason. He took his talents to Oklahoma City on a three-year, $87 million deal instead.
Now, as the Knicks look to fill Hartenstein’s shoes, it begs to question what would have been had he never left New York to begin with. Time could prove him to be the missing component that the Knicks would need to win it all come June.
