NBA Rumors: Knicks’ Isaiah Hartenstein Linked to Thunder, Magic Ahead of Free Agency

Isaiah Hartenstein’s free agency market appears to be heating up.

NBA insider Marc Stein reported that the Orlando Magic and Oklahoma City Thunder appear to be the front-runners to land the former New York Knicks center.

“Orlando and Oklahoma City continue to be teams cited most often by rival executives when forecasting Hartenstein’s likely suitors in free agency,” Stein wrote.

The 25-year-old averaged 7.8 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 75 games for the Knicks in 2023-24. He accumulated those statistics in 49 starts and averaged 25.3 minutes.

This was the most starts and minutes he has played in his NBA career, and much of this came due to injuries to Mitchell Robinson. With Robinson set to resume his role as the starter and with the Knicks bringing in Mikal Bridges and hoping to still sign OG Anunoby in free agency, Hartenstein looks like a luxury it can’t afford.

This brings Oklahoma City and Orlando into the mix, and Hartenstein could be a solid addition to both squads. Oklahoma City went 57-25 and earned the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. The Thunder would advance to the second round of the playoffs, falling to the Dallas Mavericks.

While this was a big season for Oklahoma City, it was the team’s return to the playoffs for the first time since 2019-20 and adding a veteran like Hartenstein could benefit a young star like Chet Holmgren and also provide some stability to the bench.

Orlando is in a similar situation. The Magic earned the No. 5 seed with a 47-35 record and fell in seven games to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round. Orlando had also not qualified since the 2019-20 season, and Hartenstein could serve as a solid depth piece to aid Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero.

NBA free agency is set to begin June 30.