Now that Dec. 15 has come and gone, players that signed in free agency are eligible to be traded with the deadline less than two months away on Feb. 9.
The New York Knicks are still without a star after not trading for Donovan Mitchell over the summer and are expected to offload a few veterans before February. Derrick Rose and Evan Fournier are the two biggest names that come to mind, although the latter will be difficult to deal because of his contract.
However, there’s another Knicks veteran that could be traded, and that is Isaiah Hartenstein. The 24-year-old signed a two-year, $16 million deal with New York as a free agent. There hasn’t been any reported trade chatter surrounding Hartenstein, but HoopsHype’s Yossi Gozlan said that the Knicks may decide to deal the center due to his “movable and team-friendly contract.”
Trading Hartenstein shouldn’t be New York’s priority, but it wouldn’t be a bad idea for the front office to explore what the Knicks could get in return.
3 reasons Knicks should consider trading center Isaiah Hartenstein
3: Tom Thibodeau doesn’t utilize him correctly
If Isaiah Hartenstein is going to be suiting up for the Knicks, it’d be nice to get to see Tom Thibodeau utilize his strengths. That has yet to happen and it probably won’t happen as long as Thibs is in charge.
Only Hartenstein can be blamed for his poor defense, but still, Thibodeau should be held accountable for the way in which he’s used the center. Knicks fans know that Hartenstein can score, namely with his floater game, but he’s also a good passer. It should be noted that Hartenstein spent time in Denver with Nikola Jokic, who is a freakishly good passer. Those aren’t things that Thibodeau wants to tap into, though.
Instead, Thibs wants to see his centers be rim protectors, which isn’t Hartenstein’s strong suit. The 24-year-old signed with New York after having an impressive season in LA, but the reason for that is the Clippers played to Hartenstein’s offensive strengths when he was in the game.
Is the front office content with watching Thibodeau try to put Hartenstein in a box that he doesn’t belong in? If that’s the case, then the Knicks should make him available in trade talks.
2: Hartenstein’s struggles on defense/the boards
This relates to the previous point, but even if Tom Thibodeau was utilizing Isaiah Hartenstein properly, that wouldn’t change his lack of physicality and energy on defense. He stands at seven-foot yet he’s easily outmatched by opposing big men.
One of the more recent examples of this was in the Knicks’ 128-120 overtime win over the Bulls on Dec. 14. Hartenstein was New York’s worst player on the floor in the 16 minutes that he played. He was outplayed by Nikola Vucevic, which has unfortunately become a theme for Hartenstein when he goes up against opposing centers.
If Hartenstein could manage to use his height and strength to his advantage, he’d become a far better defender. Instead, there are too many occurrences where he seems to be playing scared. Watching him sub in for Robinson can be brutal because the impact that Mitch brings to the game is the exact opposite of what I-Hart brings.
Because Thibs chooses to view Hartenstein as a traditional center, his deficiencies on defense and the boards have been made painfully evident. His performance has led to many fans rightfully calling for Sims to play over him, which brings me to the next point.
1: Allow for Sims to be Robinson’s primary backup
Over the summer, the Knicks converted Jericho Sims’ two-way contract to a three-year, $5.7 million contract with $2.9 million of it being guaranteed. He didn’t get much playing time in his rookie season as he averaged 2.2 points and 4.1 rebounds in 13.5 minutes across 41 games, but it was still evident that the No. 58 pick in the 2021 draft was worth something.
Sims has been playing behind Hartenstein this season, but when he’s in the game, he makes more of an impact than Robinson’s primary backup. The 24-year-old is a good defender with quick feet and doesn’t get into foul trouble either, which is something that Robinson still struggles with in his fifth year in the league.
Now that Thibs has finally embraced playing the kids and has removed a few veterans from the rotation, it’s time to increase Sims’ role, too. He doesn’t have the offensive skillset that Hartnestein has, but as mentioned, Thibodeau likes to use his centers as rim protectors. Sims fits into that category.
Plus, it’s a bonus to get to watch Sims hang in the air when he goes up for an alley-oop. It will never get old to watch him casually hang above the rim.
Giving Sims more playing time will help with his development as he’s still in only his second season, although he’s only five months younger than Hartenstein. The potential is there. Moving on from Hartenstein would give Sims the increased role that he deserves.
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