HART' OF THE MATTER
New Knicks big man brings elite defense, passing to team
LAS VEGAS — Jalen Brunson was the Knicks’ splashy addition, one of the biggest free-agent names to switch teams. He fills a decades-long hole at point guard.
But Isaiah Hartenstein, a rim-protecting, court-spacing, adept-passing center, could end up being an essential part of Tom Thibodeau’s team next year, too. Just ask his former coach, Tyronn Lue.
“He’ll be good [for them]. You can run stuff through him, he can make plays, he can make passes,” the Clippers’ coach told The Post in between games at NBA summer league. “Defensively, he’s one of Thibs’ types of guys. He can switch at the 5 position, good in the drops. He’s very athletic and so he can do a lot of different things.
“He had a great year for us. With all the injuries we had, for him to come and fill in the way he did, he became one of our better passers at the 5-man position.”
The 24-year-old Hartenstein recently agreed to a two-year, $16 million deal with the Knicks, although the contract has yet to be officially announced. Lue said the Clippers would have loved to keep the 7-footer, but they couldn’t make it work financially.
Hartenstein was a valued member of the team, beating out Harry Giles III for a roster spot in training camp and becoming the team’s backup center by outplaying Serge Ibaka, who was eventually traded. He averaged 8.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists last season while shooting 46.7 percent from 3-point range in 17.9 minutes per game. He only attempted 0.4 3-pointers a game last year, but is capable of hitting from beyond the arc.
“He can shoot the 3-point shot, which he did later in the season. We didn’t give enough credit for doing that [earlier in the year],” Lue said. referring to Hartenstein finishing the season by hitting 9 of 16 attempts from distance over his last eight games. “His development over the course of the season was just really good.”
He’s a strong defender, blocking 3.1 shots per 100 possessions, which ranked as the ninth-highest figure in the league. Opponents made only 47.5 percent of their attempts against him at the rim, which was the lowest in the NBA, according to MavsMoneyBall.com.
Hartenstein should be a strong complement to starting center Mitchell Robinson because of the different dimension he presents. While Robinson is a nonshooter who clogs up the paint, Hartenstein will stretch the floor and improve the Knicks’ spacing.
The American-born big man has come a long way in his career. A second-round pick of the Rockets in 2017 who spent most of his youth in Germany, he played parts of three seasons in the G-League and was the G-League Finals MVP in 2019. He began to carve out a niche for himself with the Cavaliers in 2020-21 after being traded to Cleveland by the Nuggets before his strong season with the Clippers last year.
“I’m happy for him, getting the contract he got,” Lue said. “He definitely deserves it. When you see guys like that, who kind of moved around a little bit and they get a real opportunity, and making the money he’s making, I’m happy for him. Great teammate, guys love playing with him. Any time you have a pass-first guy, guys will love playing with them.”