The Boston Celtics may be on the outside looking in on Isaiah Hartenstein after reporting indicated Oklahoma City is expected to re-sign the big man. That would keep one of the summer’s more unusual center targets away from a Boston team that has had him on its radar for a while.
Hartenstein would have been an unrestricted free agent this summer, which is why his situation is drawing attention now. He is one of two top-notch bigs on the market, alongside restricted free agents Walker Kessler and Jalen Duren, and Boston has been looking for ways to upgrade its frontcourt.
For Jayson Tatum’s team, the appeal is obvious. Hartenstein was a pain in the neck for Boston not too long ago, and his box score numbers do not do him justice. MassLive’s Brian Robb reported that the Celtics have long been fans of Hartenstein, per sources, but they will be limited in what they can offer the big man compared to Oklahoma City.
That limitation matters because the Thunder can offer more, and current indications are that they intend to keep him. The Oklahoman’s Joe Mussatto reported that Oklahoma City may decline Hartenstein’s expensive team option next season, but the more meaningful detail is where the reporting points after that: the Thunder are expected to re-sign him. If that happens, Boston’s interest runs into a wall before free agency really opens.
The Celtics have spent the past few years trying to bring in players in the Hartenstein mold, and that helps explain why this name keeps surfacing around them. Kristaps Porzingis, Malcolm Brogdon and Dennis Schroder are among the examples of players Boston has brought in, and the team still has the non-taxpayers mid-level exception and the ability to execute sign-and-trades. Those tools give the Celtics some flexibility, but not enough to match Oklahoma City if the Thunder decide Hartenstein is worth keeping.
So the real question is not whether Boston likes him; it does. The question is whether Oklahoma City actually follows through on the expected new deal or lets Hartenstein reach the market. For now, the early read is that the Celtics are likely to be watching another center option come off the board before they can make their move.
