Isaiah Hartenstein: I’d Have Taken Knicks Pay Cut If Not for $87M Thunder Contract

Isaiah Hartenstein was willing to take a below-market contract from the New York Knicks until the Oklahoma City Thunder provided him with not only a massive payday but also the chance to contend for a title.

“I was going to make sure I was set for the rest of my life,” he said to the New York Post‘s Stefan Bondy. “But then at the same time, if it wasn’t a team like OKC, I would’ve taken a pay cut because I loved it (in New York). But I now have an opportunity to make that money, make that pay raise, and still compete. I think that was the main factor.”

That’s well above the most the Knicks could’ve provided to the veteran center, both in terms of average salary and total payout. Thanks to the collective bargaining agreement, New York’s max offer would’ve been $72.5 million over four years.

Players leaving money on the table for competitive reasons is nothing new. The NBA might be entering a slightly different era thanks to the punitive CBA and the dreaded second apron of the luxury tax, though.

Jalen Brunson just signed an extension with the Knicks that’s substantially below what he was in line to make if he had waited and collected every penny to which he was entitled.

NBA insider Marc Stein reported Monday that Mikal Bridges, whom New York acquired this offseason, “is likely to follow Brunson’s lead and sign a team-friendly deal of his own when it’s his turn to negotiate an extension.”

Looking even further ahead, the skyrocketing revenues in the NBA could lead stars feeling more comfortable taking less than the max. With the way things are headed, a player could turn down upwards of $20 million annually and still earn $50-plus million.

Hartenstein drew a distinction between himself and Brunson, though, citing their career earnings before getting their new contracts. Hartenstein had made $22.7 million in the NBA so far and that’s less than Brunson collected from 2023-24 alone.

“He’s kind of in a different situation than I’m in. Already made $100 million (in his career). He’s the star player, knows he probably won’t ever get traded. So it’s a different situation,” Hartenstein said to Bondy.

“But that also shows what kind of a leader he is to make those sacrifices. I don’t think a lot of people are making those sacrifices. I think our situations are a little bit different but I have a lot of respect for him as a player and a human being for doing that.”

Still, the comments point to what could be a much different landscape for the Knicks.

For years, they overpaid for free agents and struggled to attract big names despite having all of the advantages the Big Apple provided. Now, the franchise is a major destination once again.