The Los Angeles Lakers need to actually find a reliable starting center this summer (have you read that before?), and Isaiah Hartenstein is a player they should go after. He has a $28.5 million team option for the 2026-27 season that the Thunder could decline, leading him to unrestricted free agency, giving LA a chance to chase him outright, but that's not a preferred outcome for OKC.
Why would they let him go without getting anything in return?
On the Game Theory Podcast w/ Sam Vecenie, he and Bryce Simon talked about the Lakers' future and what it could look like. They brought up Hartenstein, with Vecenie calling him the perfect big for LA, but it'd most likely require a trade.
"If you're the Lakers and you have Austin Reaves coming back with Luka, and you lose LeBron, you do have the space to go get Hartenstein. My guess is that Oklahoma City is going to pick up that team option and try to extend him off the team option... I don't know that Hartenstein's going to hit free agency."
Isaiah Hartenstein probably won't hit free agency
If Oklahoma City decided to clear some cap space by declining Hartenstein's option, odds are that Los Angeles would have a pretty good shot at landing the 28-year-old, thanks to Luka Dončić. The opportunity to play alongside the superstar guard would be an easy selling point, giving the Lakers an edge other teams couldn't match.
It could also be a bonus for Hartenstein, who spent the 2021-22 season with the Clippers, to return to LA to play for the better team. He's already won a title, but doing so for a legendary franchise like the Lakers? That'd be a nice addition to his resume.
Los Angeles wouldn't be the only team pursuing Hartenstein's services in free agency, but if LeBron left, the Lakers could make him a solid offer. When you compound that with all of the above, it'd be hard for the center to want to go anywhere else.
Lakers should still try to trade for Isaiah Hartenstein
Assuming the Thunder picks up Hartenstein's option and extends him, the Lakers should still be interested in trading for him. It wouldn't be as straightforward as signing him outright in free agency, but he's still someone LA should have at the top of its offseason wish list.
He averaged 9.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, 1.0 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game for OKC during the regular season in 24.2 minutes across 47 games. The big man is a great interior defender and rebounder. His floater game is pretty sweet, too. Oh, and Hartenstein is a team player. That matters, especially to the Lakers.
How OKC handles his situation once the offseason starts will be interesting, and part of that could be determined by how the rest of the series versus San Antonio goes. Maybe he will end up falling into the Lakers' hands, after all.
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