How Isaiah Hartenstein Fits Sam Presti's 'People First' Mantra for the OKC Thunder

On Monday, July 1, the Oklahoma City Thunder agreed to terms for its free agent signing in team history before officially inking Isaiah Hartenstein to a 3-year, $87 million deal on Saturday.

Many Thunder fans rejoiced with news of the signing, excited that Sam Presti and company finally added a player with substantial size and rebounding prowess at the center position.

After struggling on the offensive glass throughout the regular season, in the Western Conference Semifinals against the Dallas Mavericks and even at times in a first-round sweep of the New Orleans Pelicans, national media members and OKC fans alike were hoping the organization would address one of its biggest weaknesses over the offseason.

Not only did Oklahoma City fill some of the gaps on its roster with the Hartenstein signing, the team thoroughly improved, adding a 26-year-old who averaged 7.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.1 blocks per game.

Listed at 7-feet tall and 250 pounds, the former New York Knicks standout has the size that the Thunder were missing on the interior mixed with the right on-court skill set to help the team's system continue to run smoothly.

Additionally, Hartenstein's personality is the right fit for the Modern Frontier.

In his introductory press conference on Saturday, the Eugene, OR, product said that he is focused on helping his new team win and being a good teammate.

"To me, it's always just about doing whatever the team needs," Harternstein said. "I feel like that also starts off the court, so just being a good teammate, being a good person. I mean, that's always important to me. So just, now, being in a culture where it means a lot to (the organization), it's very exciting."

Presti seemed to agree with Hartenstein's assessment that he will be a good fit in the team's locker room comparing Oklahoma CIty's newest addition to some of the other players on the team who have also proven to be good representatives of the team off the court.

"I think we were fortunate in this case because Isaiah is a guy that’s come up with a winding path," Presti said on Saturday. "He’s earned everything. He has worked himself into being an excellent player individually, but as I said earlier, his units play really well together pretty much anywhere he’s been. The other thing I really like about him is he’s looking forward about other ways he can improve and he can get better. A lot of people would get an opportunity like this and they’d be thinking about -- kind of looking back, and I think he’s actually looking forward."

"He’s looking at what’s next, how do I improve, thinking about how to set up his home gym and his weight room.Those are the kind of guys we want to have.I always remember when we signed Lu (Dort) to his first extension, and the first thing he said to me was, Now I can hire my trainer full time. That’s when you know you’re investing in the right people.It’s the same thing with Isaiah. Isaiah saying, all right, I’ve got to get my home gym set up. These are the professionals and the types of people that we want to populate the building with, (Alex) Caruso, Hartenstein. The other guys that we have are thinking about their profession in a different way, and we want to continue to populate the team with those types of mentalities."

Presti and Hartenstein's sentiments both reflect something that Presti said years ago when the team was in the midst of a rebuild that brought Shai GIlgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren to the Modern Frontier.

Back in 2021, when the OKC was still in the early stages of its rebuild, Presti told media members, "We draft people first, and players second."

Now, nearly three years later with the team on the cusp of what should be a big season, this mantra still reigns true and is reflected in various personnel decisions from draft picks, to free agent signings and more.

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