SACRAMENTO – In the days leading up to NBA free agency, Isaiah Hartenstein had a family situation that forced him to move his location from Texas to Oregon. He had to visit his grandparents in Eugene. So any open spots would have to wait, go virtual or take a detour to the Pacific Northwest.

The Oklahoma City Thunder decision makers quickly took action. They had previously planned to make the quick flight to Houston to pitch Hartenstein, their top target. The itinerary was changed. Thunder general manager Sam Presti, head coach Mark Daigneault and their longtime medical voice, Donnie Strack, flew from Oklahoma City to Eugene.

“It’s not like I was in a nice little setup in Los Angeles (like most Free Agent meetings in the NBA),” Hartenstein said. The Athletics. “We were in a random hotel in Eugene. I can’t remember the name.”

The gesture meant “a lot” to Hartenstein, given the family reasons that forced it, a sign of how the Thunder operated and how much they coveted him. On the team side, the location meant little considering the potential reward. They would have met Hartenstein anywhere and planted a large chunk of their available cap space on the table for a player that franchise face Shai Gilgeous-Alexander called a “dream big man for a big man” late Monday night after the Thunder’s 130-109 . win over the Sacramento Kings.

“I always knew from a distance what the organization was doing,” says Hartenstein. “But when they came out and presented it all to me, explained how they wanted to play me, explained the culture, it was just something very exciting for me. It’s a young group of guys playing the right way, first in the West, and I felt like I could bring something that could really help.

Hartenstein signed a hefty three-year deal worth $87 million, with some built-in team-friendly aspects. The deal drops from $30 million to $28.5 million from the first to the second season and the third season is a team option, providing financial flexibility as Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren enter their expected big-money extensions.

Hartenstein experienced a steady rise. He went to the Houston Rockets with the No. 43 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft and bounced from the Denver Nuggets to Cleveland Cavaliers to the LA Clippers in his first three seasons. The 2021-2022 season saw him finally gain some traction in his career as a rotation big on a 42-40 Clippers team. Analytics models loved him. The New York Knicks stole him away for a two-year deal worth $16 million.

Hartenstein started in New York as a rugged center who could start or come off the bench, protect the rim at a high level, rebound like crazy, make over 60 percent of his shots, burn defenses with his float and could open the lanes. with his physical screening. He was a key part of a great Knicks team.

Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder’s publicly reserved but highly aware star guard, watched from afar and noticed.

“To be honest, I’ve watched the playoffs and I’m aware of contract situations in the league,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “So I knew a little bit (of his availability) while he was playing. And when I saw the Knicks making all those moves over the summer without him involved, I was like, “Hmm…”

The Knicks pulled off a blockbuster trade for Mikal Bridges in late June and maintained a pretty public plan to also bring back OG Anunoby at a steep price. Considering the new CBA apron rules, which limited how much they could pay Hartenstein, opened the door for Presti and the Thunder to call it off.

“I’ll leave the front office stuff to Sam,” Gilgeous-Alexander said when asked if he had called about it. ‘Trust him very much. It’s clear he reads minds. So I didn’t have to say anything. … We knew as a group and the world kind of knew that there was a hole in us as a team last year. I think Isaiah fills that gap very well. Sam filled it out correctly. We have become better because of it.”

This has finally become visible in the past week. Hartenstein broke his hand in the preseason and missed the first 14 games. He returned from the bench to play 29 minutes in a home win over the Portland Trail Blazers, tallying 13 points, 14 rebounds, three assists and four blocks. He then backed that up on Monday night with 19 points, 10 rebounds and four assists, slotting into the Thunder’s starting lineup as the only healthy center while Holmgren recovers from a broken hip.

“Offensive rebounding, defensive rebounding, size in general,” Gilgeous-Alexander said when asked what Hartenstein brings to the table. “Many times we have found ourselves doubling the mail just because we are too small. We don’t need much anymore. You know, he’s very skilled and can succeed. I’m sure you’ve seen it today. He had one behind his back that fell down.

Here is the pass that Gilgeous-Alexander mentioned.

Hartenstein’s value feels excessive at this point, given Holmgren’s injury status. The Thunder franchise center is currently on crutches and isn’t expected to even get a re-evaluation for another month or two. A long absence awaits, and in the meantime, Hartenstein is shaping up as a starting point in an otherwise small-scale environment for a Thunder team favored to take the top seed in the conference.

But Hartenstein chose the Thunder – and they targeted him – with the inclusion of Holmgren as part of the equation, believing both big men could not only survive but thrive together on the court. In their best theoretical playoff draft, both line up in the frontcourt for large chunks of the game. That was part of their pitch: Join a team that already has an elite franchise center, because that’s not the only position he’ll play.

“Just knowing that he (Holmgren) can also play in the four (appealed to me),” Hartenstein said. “Knowing this, it wasn’t a situation where I was blocked. Or it’s like I don’t start at all. It was a situation where I knew he could play in the four. I can play the five. I felt like we could complement each other.”

They haven’t played together a second time in the regular season and won’t for a few months. But Hartenstein and Holmgren did share some preseason minutes together and the results were intriguing.

“The rim protection is one thing,” Hartenstein said. “I feel like we are two of the elite rim protectors in the league. We approach it a little differently. He’ll probably have more blocks. I’m more of a guy (whose impact is reflected in) the opponent’s field goal percentage around the rim.

They connected on a pair of dribble handoffs in a preseason game against the San Antonio Spurs.

“That was really fun,” said Hartenstein.

Here’s one excerpt. Daigneault called Hartenstein the best screener he has ever coached, noting his craftsmanship and subtle tactics. That includes a situation like the one below, where he’s blocking off a lane so Holmgren can drive and dunk after delivering the dribble handoff.

The Thunder had the third-worst rebounding percentage a season ago. It burned them in their second-round playoff loss to the Dallas Mavericks. They have the worst rebounding percentage this season and are playing without a center for much of the time. Hartenstein was added in part to help correct this. He is one of the best rebounders in the league.

Two games is far too small a sample size for anything in the NBA, but the early results are positive. Hartenstein has played two games, grabbed 24 rebounds and in those two games the Thunder has a rebound percentage of 53.8, fifth in the NBA during that mini portion of the schedule.

“I’m not coming here to change anything they’re doing,” Hartenstein said. “I’m just here to improve everything I can. I mean, I’m just the player that I am. I try to make everyone’s life easier. I’m going to rebound, help connect the team, facilitate, defend the bigger guys, protect the rim. So I feel like there’s a lot of different scenarios where I could help the team, but I’m not going to come in and change the way they play. I mean, they still play the way I like to play.”

That was part of the Thunder field in Eugene.

“I’m a very present type, day to day,” Hartenstein said. “And that was the first thing they said: we don’t want to skip any steps. That’s something certain teams don’t do. They were honest and just told me what they needed from me. And I felt like I could add something to a team that was already first in the West that could really help them get over the hurdle.”

(Photo of Hartenstein: Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)