The Oklahoma City Thunder are having their cake and eating it too. While it was disappointing for them to lose in the playoffs against the Dallas Mavericks, they have made a lot of moves to make sure that doesn't happen. They kicked the offseason off by trading for Alex Caruso from the Chicago Bulls. Oklahoma City also re-signed Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins and added through the draft. But the best move the Thunder have made during 2024 NBA free agency was to sign big man Isaiah Hartenstein away from the New York Knicks.
Isaiah Hartenstein offers help on the glass
The biggest area of the floor where the Thunder got exploited in their playoff loss to the Mavericks was on the glass. Oklahoma City was never a very good rebounding team to begin with during the regular season. They ranked 28th in the league in rebound percentage at 48.4%. Only the 15-67 Washington Wizards and 21-61 Charlotte Hornets were worse in that department.
The Thunder were even worse there in their playoff defeat. Their rebound percentage dipped even further down to 47.4%. They had a ton of trouble keeping the likes of Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford off the glass, who gave the Mavericks a ton of second opportunities that they wound up capitalizing on.
It will be harder for teams to bully the Thunder on the boards now with Isaiah Hartenstein in tow. Hartenstein had the 37th-best defensive rebounding percentage in the league among players who played at least 15 games and 15 minutes per game. He also had the fifth-best offensive-rebounding percentage among that same group of players.
His defensive rebounding percentage may be a bit misleading too. Hartenstein does a good job of boxing out his man and allowing a teammate (in the Knicks' case it was Josh Hart) to grab the ball and start the fast break. New York opponents grabbed 24.6% of their misses when Hartenstein was on the floor last season, according to Cleaning the Glass. That ranked in the 85th percentile of lineups around the NBA.
A playmaking hub for the Thunder
Not only will Hartenstein be a massive plus for the Thunder in the rebounding department, he will also help diversify their offense. Many Oklahoma City offensive possessions featured their stars in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams operating in isolation or in pick and roll. While those guys are great at that, it can't hurt to get those guys the ball in different ways or spots.
Hartenstein will allow the Thunder to get those guys the ball on the move. He is an excellent passer from the top of the key and as a short roller. He can also handle enough to flow into dribble handoffs and is an excellent screener in those situations to free up space for his teammates.
Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams, and Chet Holmgren generated 1.52, 1.40, and 1.50 points per possession on cuts last season respectively. Gilgeous-Alexander ranked in the 88th percentile of the entire league on such plays. However, cuts made up for only 2% of his arsenal of plays he finished. There is a ton of meat on the bone for the Thunder to pick at with him off the ball.
Hartenstein will help accentuate that into their offense. He is going to make a massive impact on the Thunder on both ends of the floor. To put the cherry on top, Oklahoma City didn't even have to give anything up to get them. The Thunder are prime to compete for a championship this year after their move to Hartenstein in free agency.
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