1. Oklahoma City Thunder (projected to have $33 million in cap space)
Over the past few weeks, the Thunder have emerged as a potential free-agency destination for Hartenstein because of their cap space. His fit in Oklahoma City is a question mark. Still, there's something behind HoopsHype's Michael Scotto reporting that rival executives are "monitoring" the Thunder as a team in the free-agent center market.
Jake Fischer wrote a piece about why Hartenstein will be free agency's best big man, and once again, OKC was mentioned. Fischer cited the Thunder's need for another rebounder, especially after the playoffs. Hartenstein averaged a career-high 8.3 boards in 2023-24.
Oklahoma City has its starting center of the future in Chet Holmgren, who finished as runner-up for Rookie of the Year. However, as Fischer noted, Hartenstein is used to sharing the floor with another big man, something he did with the Knicks.
If Sam Presti and the front office want to add Hartenstein to the roster (which doesn't seem likely), they could make a better offer than New York. The center would go from the No. 2 team in the East to the top team in the West, which is a good selling point for OKC. Will Hartenstein be lured to Oklahoma, or will he want to stay in New York as the primary starting center?