Isaiah Hartenstein Is A Coveted Free Agent, One Year After Being Unemployed

With only a few hours to go until the start of the July Moratorium, NBA teams are exercising options, extending qualifying offers and, where possible, signing last-minute extensions. This is what happened in the case of the Los Angeles Clippers and their starting center, Ivica Zubac, signing him to a three-year circa. $33 million extension mere days before he hit the unrestricted free agent market.

Unfortunately, much as they would probably like to, they cannot do the same with his backup.

Isaiah Hartenstein was picked up by the Clippers on a one-year minimum salary contract during 2021 training camp. after four stop-start seasons split between the Houston Rockets, Denver Nuggets and Cleveland Cavaliers. After missing his first year due to injury, he had been good with all three teams over the following three seasons, yet it was usually only in limited roles; only in his brief 16-game stint with Cleveland to close out 2020-21 did he get any decent run, averaging 8.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.2 blocks in only 17.9 minutes of 16 games.

Perhaps buoyed by that run, Hartenstein declined his player option for another year at the minimum salary, and although that was all he got from the Clippers as well, he did at least with only Zubac for company, he was able to find the first full season good run of minutes of his career. In 68 games for the Clippers, Hartenstein almost mirrored those Cavaliers numbers, averaging 8.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.1 blocks in another 17.9 minutes per game. He is, simply, very solid.

However, because his contract was only one season, it is not eligible for an extension. Furthermore, because he has now recorded four years of NBA experience, Hartenstein was not eligible for restricted free agency either.

Restricted free agency is limited only to free agents with three years or less experience, with the sole exception being for players at the end of their four-year rookie scale contracts, whose qualifying offer value is determined by the scale. That exception applies only to first rounders, however, and thus Hartenstein unavoidably enters unrestricted free agency this week, no matter what the Clippers want.

There is already a market said to be circling for Hartenstein, one including the Orlando Magic, Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks. As well there should be. With Zubac off the table, Mitchell Robinson (already of the Knicks) expected to be re-signed, Jusuf Nurkic almost certain to do the same, Nic Claxton restricted and Deandre Ayton outside of these team’s prices ranges, there will be a market for this Zubac-esque player who has proven to be effective in limited minutes and a backup center who expands the offensive playbook.