Hartenstein bets on Oklahoma City: "I wanted to stay long term and keep playing for the title"

Isaiah Hartenstein will remain linked to the Oklahoma City Thunder for the next three years. The German center, whose future was not assured after the season, has decided to continue with a project he considers capable of competing for the championship and has even accepted a salary reduction to facilitate the continuity of the team's core.

“I really wanted to stay with this team long term and keep playing for a title contender,” Hartenstein explained regarding his renewal. The big man was aware that his market value was higher than the ultimately agreed-upon salary, but the restrictions of the second apron influenced the negotiations.

“I already knew my market value. It was even higher than what we negotiated. But due to the second apron and the way the team is structured, I had to accept a slightly lower salary,” he acknowledged.

Hartenstein believes that the financial sacrifice was worth it to maintain the Oklahoma City project. “It's still a lot of money, of course, but it's a salary cut I had to accept for the good of the team,” he noted.

Criticisms of the second apron

The center also took the opportunity to question the current NBA collective bargaining agreement and, especially, the restrictions affecting franchises that exceed the second apron. In his view, rules created to prevent situations like Kevin Durant’s move to the Golden State Warriors have ended up creating new problems.

“It's very difficult for us. These rules were initially introduced due to Kevin Durant's move to the Golden State Warriors, to prevent teams from having too many players of that caliber. But currently, it's not working as intended,” he explained.

Hartenstein cited the example of Oklahoma City itself, a franchise that has developed much of its roster from scratch and may be forced to part with players due to the economic and sports limitations of the second apron.

“We are a team that has built players from scratch and then has to trade them away due to the second apron. It's a shame,” he lamented. “It's not that the team doesn't want to pay you. But when you're in the second apron, it's not just an economic issue; you are also very limited in making trades”.

Confidence despite elimination

Hartenstein also commented on the Thunder's elimination and ruled out using injuries as an excuse. Oklahoma City played the seventh game without two of its main scorers, a circumstance that complicated the match, but the German understands that the opponent deserved the victory.

“We played the seventh game without two of our main scorers. Obviously, that made things more difficult. If we can be healthy again and play at this level, things will look good,” he stated.

However, he emphasized that they do not want to justify the loss by citing absences. “We don't want to make excuses now; we didn't lose because of that. They deserved to win,” he asserted.

The center maintains confidence in Oklahoma City's chances for the upcoming season. “We're not a team that attributes the opponent's win to just one thing or another. We approach the season again knowing we can compete at the highest level and that sometimes you just need a bit of luck”.

Hartenstein also recalled that health was a determining factor in the Thunder's last championship. “In our championship season, we were injury-free. The same happened with New York this time,” he pointed out.

His renewal thus signifies a statement of intent: Hartenstein prefers to continue in Oklahoma City, even accepting a lower salary, with the hope that the Thunder core will once again contend for the championship with all their players available.

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Hartenstein apuesta por Oklahoma City: “Quería quedarme a largo plazo y seguir jugando por el título”