MINNEAPOLIS – Isaiah Hartenstein is one win away from the NBA Finals. The Knicks have a chance to make their first NBA Finals in 25 years. Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo have helped Minnesota reach the Western Conference finals for the second straight season.
“It’s funny when you see all three teams, I think for everyone it was a win-win,” Hartenstein told SNY from the visitor’s locker room at the Target Center late Monday night. “…. Then you see Obi (Toppin) with Indiana. I think it’s bittersweet for everybody.”
With the Thunder up 3-1 in the Conference Finals, Hartenstein didn’t want to look ahead to a potential Finals matchup with the Knicks.
But he still believes New York had a chance to do something special last season – if healthy.
“I think we got unlucky that (OG Anunoby) got hurt," Hartenstein said. "I think we had a chance last year if we had the same team … don’t want to live in the hypothetical, but I felt like when we were all together, we were a really good team.”
Hartenstein is on another really good team at the moment. The Thunder are the favorite to win the title this season, regardless of who they face. The Thunder have been dominant all year long behind incredible depth, two-way talent, and MVP play from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
This is exactly what Hartenstein was looking for when he signed with the Thunder in free agency last summer.
He inked a three-year, $87 million deal with Oklahoma City in free agency. Due to CBA rules, the Knicks were limited in what they could offer Hartenstein. They could offer him a four-year, $72 million contract. But the $72 million total includes several incentives. So the guaranteed money is under $65 million. If you factor in state taxes, Hartenstein had more guaranteed money in two years of his Thunder contract than the four-year Knicks offer.
“What a lot of people don’t get in our space is that it’s a business at the end of the day. Everyone gets kind of mad when you make a decision for yourself. But at the end of the day, you can get traded,” Hartenstein said. “There’s been so many examples of guys taking less money and they get traded to the team that was going to pay them more.”
Hartenstein still hears some hate from Knicks fans who are upset that he left.
“I get a little bit (of hate), but I still love them,” Hartenstein said.
(As an aside: If you would turn down the money Hartenstein was offered, more power to you. I think nearly everyone would have done what Hartenstein did.)
Hartenstein’s departure and Mitchell Robinson’s injury motivated the Knicks to trade for Karl-Anthony Towns. The club also re-signed Anunoby and traded for Mikal Bridges. All three players have been pivotal to the Knicks’ success in the playoffs.
“(Team president) Leon (Rose) did a great job adjusting,” Hartenstein said.
Like all NBA fans, Hartenstein has been watching the Knicks during their run. He’s happy for his old team, happy to see Robinson back on the floor and playing at a high level. He doesn’t want to look ahead to a possible Knicks-Thunder Finals. But he’s impressed by what he’s seen from New York.
“For Leon (Rose), how he adjusted, how he built that up, for them now to be in the Conference Finals," Hartenstein said, "who would have thought that when he took over?”