NBA Mock Trade: Knicks Part Ways With Young Center As OKC Adds Frontcourt Depth
There's no doubt Chet Holmgren projects to be the starting center for the Oklahoma City Thunder for a long time, but ensuring the team has a quality backup big will be key moving forward. With that in mind, making a consolidation trade to bring another 7-footer in while alleviating the current roster crunch could make a lot of sense.
While it's unlikely that Oklahoma City makes any splashy moves, acquiring a center like Isaiah Hartenstein from the New York Knicks would check many boxes.
Hartenstein is just 25 years old and would be the perfect backup center in Oklahoma City. He has a sturdy frame, weighing nearly 250 pounds which would be the ideal counterforce for Holmgren. He has the ability to make upwards of $9.2 million in the upcoming season before becoming a free agent next summer.
Although the Knicks aren't actively shopping him on the market, they could actually get a decent return from the Thunder for him. There will be several players cut from the current OKC roster that will have many suitors on the free agent market following. Instead of cutting them outright, perhaps Oklahoma City could extract value and allow New York to take control of these assets.
It would take salary from a player like Victor Oladipo, who would need draft capital attached to him, along with a couple of young prospects to make the money work. Especially if these prospects are going to get cut anyways, it makes sense to make this type of move. Furthermore, it's not out of the question that Oladipo comes back and could actually contribute, even if he has faced major injuries.
Neither of these teams have significant pressure to make a trade as of today, but this type of transaction could make sense for both sides.
Thunder Get: Isaiah Hartenstein
Knicks Get: Victor Oladipo, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, TyTy Washington and a Future Second-Round Pick
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