Knicks will make Isaiah Hartenstein their primary target in free agency, but can they bring him back?
New York Knicks guard Josh Hart (3) and center Isaiah Hartenstein, right, celebrate as the Knicks defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers in an NBA basketball game, Sunday, March 3, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki) Credit: AP/Sue Ogrocki
This usually is the most magical time of the year for Knicks fans, at least temporarily. For so long, disappointing seasons pointed to the start of free agency, when fans — and the front office — could dream that this was the year that the stars would come, turning the franchise’s fortunes.
But as NBA free agency begins Sunday at 6 p.m., the Knicks won’t be chasing stars. They instead will be focused on trying to keep their own pieces in place.
The Knicks have filled their roster — and salary cap — with the talent needed to become a contender, trading for Mikal Bridges to add to a roster that reached the Eastern Conference semifinals in each of the last two seasons. So while the likes of Paul George, DeMar DeRozan and even LeBron James tempt front offices around the league, the Knicks’ focus will be on trying to coax Isaiah Hartenstein to remain in New York.
(They picked up the team option on Jericho Sims’ contract Saturday, keeping one backup center option in place.)
Hartenstein emerged as a key piece of the Knicks’ success this past season, his second with the team. He moved into the starting lineup when Mitchell Robinson was sidelined with a fractured ankle and responded by averaging 7.8 points, 2.5 assists and a career-best 8.3 rebounds per game.
But after signing a two-year free-agent deal with the Knicks before the 2022-23 season, he is an unrestricted free agent. The Knicks, with Early Bird Rights, can offer him a maximum of a four-year, $72.5 million contract.
It’s a healthy raise but might not be enough to match what other teams will offer him. With the Nets agreeing to a four-year, $100 million deal to keep Nic Claxton, Hartenstein is the top center available on the market.
The Knicks can perform some salary cap gymnastics to open up enough space for the starting salary of $16.2 million in the deal, but the question is whether that will be enough to get Hartenstein to agree to stay.
While teams such as Oklahoma City and Orlando have been rumored to be interested and one league source indicated that the Knicks already have been informed that Hartenstein expects offers beyond what they can give him, there are ways to make it worth his while.
Hartenstein could take a two-year deal from the Knicks with a player option for the second year. Opting out would allow him to sign a new deal with the Knicks next summer with the team having Full Bird Rights and the ability to give him a healthy raise.
But the risk is that he had the best season of his career this past year and that he would risk injury or a reduction in minutes or production in 2024-25 unless the two sides could have an under-the-table agreement on what he could sign for next summer.
If the Knicks were to lose Hartenstein, the options for a replacement would be limited by their salary cap and by the players available. If the Knicks avoid reaching the first apron of the cap, they would have a $12.9 million non-tax midlevel exception available, but that seems out of the picture.
If they are in the first apron — where they will reside right now if they don’t attach some contract to the Bridges deal — they would have the $5.1 million tax midlevel available.
If they go into the second apron, they would have nothing other than their second-round exceptions to sign second-round picks Tyler Kolek, Kevin McCullar Jr. and Ariel Hukporti. They currently hold three trade exceptions — $6.8 million, $5.2 million and $3.8 million. But those become frozen if they are in the apron.
The Knicks have other players who could walk, too. Precious Achiuwa is a restricted free agent but seems unlikely to be brought back unless Hartenstein leaves and he emerges as the next-best lower-cost option to serve as a backup to Robinson.
Alec Burks is an unrestricted free agent. The Knicks could orchestrate a sign-and-trade deal that could help them clear more cap room to facilitate the Hartenstein space if they were to attach the Burks deal to the Bridges trade with the Nets, which has not yet been made official.
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.