The Oklahoma City Thunder will have to start the regular season without center Isaiah Hartenstein. The 26-year-old center "sustained a small, non-displaced fracture in his left hand during the second half of Tuesday's preseason game in Denver," the Thunder announced on Thursday. "Hartenstein will be re-evaluated in five to six weeks."
Hartenstein signed a three-year, $87 million contract (with a team option in Year 3) with the Thunder in July. It was one of the most significant signings of the summer -- he was coming off a career year with the New York Knicks, and Oklahoma City was coming off a 57-win season. The Thunder already had an excellent starting center in Chet Holmgren, but the appeal was obvious: Hartenstein makes them bigger, better on the glass and, most importantly, more adaptable. His playmaking from the top of the key diversifies their offense, and his screening opens up opportunities all over the court.
Three preseason games into his tenure, you can already see Oklahoma City figuring out how to play off of Hartenstein. Here's fellow offseason addition Alex Caruso happening upon an open look from just outside the paint thanks to an imaginative pass from the big man in their first game together:
Don't look 👀 pic.twitter.com/a2mp9w3Ey7
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) October 8, 2024
Two days later, another great read from Hartenstein and another bucket for Caruso:
Yeah, this Isaiah Hartenstein signing is looking solid 👀@okcthunder | #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/d9Goce20S0
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) October 10, 2024
Hartenstein's absence, then, is a setback. During a press conference three weeks ago, general manager Sam Presti said, "We're going to need some time with this particular group, especially because we're not trying to wedge [Hartenstein and Caruso] in or have assumptions of how they're going to fit with certain players. We kind of have to allow that to take its course." Now Oklahoma City will need even more time. If Hartenstein is able to play in six weeks, he will have missed the first 18 games of the regular season.
It is worth monitoring how the Thunder approach the first month or so. They have made it known that they want to play a different way offensively, but they will now be without the guy who unlocks a lot of different actions. They are fortunate to be able to fall back on an offense that ranked third in the NBA in efficiency last season, but they likely don't want to abandon what they've been working on throughout training camp and the preseason.
In the short term, OKC's frontcourt is thin. Big man Jaylin Williams strained his right hamstring at the beginning of this month, and forward Kenrich Williams had an arthroscopic debridement procedure (i.e. a cleanup) in his right knee a month ago. Both will be re-evaluated at the end of the preseason. If neither is available when the regular season begins and the Thunder do not make any roster moves, they could be extremely small. Ousmane Dieng, the 21-year-old they picked No. 11 in the 2022 draft, is not a conventional "big," but he is 6-foot-9 and could have an opportunity to be in the rotation. Bismack Biyombo, who spent the last few months of the 2023-24 season in Oklahoma City, remains a free agent.
The Thunder open the season on Oct. 24 against three-time MVP Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets. This matchup would have been a prime opportunity to see how their two-big lineups look and perhaps even start Hartenstein next to Holmgren. As a result of this injury, all of that will have to wait.
