Isaiah Hartensteins Garden return gives Knicks reminder of what theyre missing at critical point

Isaiah Hartenstein demonstrated what the role could be at its peak.The job as the Knicks’ backup center — at the time occupying the spot behind an injury-prone Mitchell Robinson on the depth chart — could serve as a launchpad to an $87 million deal in free agency.

To pricing out of the Knicks’ maximum offer due to the early Bird rights. Around this time last year, Hartenstein started stringing together the results that would eventually translate to his massive payday with the Thunder.He started his first game of the 2023-24 campaign on Dec.

20, in the aftermath of Robinson’s injury 12 days earlier, and then held that spot for the rest of the season, even as Robinson returned and then got injured again. “I kinda felt like I was good enough to start probably most of the time,” Hartenstein said Friday before returning to the Garden for the first time as a member of the Thunder.“I think we had a luxury at the time where we had me and Mitch together, so I think you had two starting centers on the same team.” But Hartenstein’s return served as a glaring reminder of the Knicks’ pressing dilemma a month before the NBA trade deadline.

They don’t have that luxury anymore.The blueprint that worked for Hartenstein hasn’t become an applicable script for the next batch of candidates.

Robinson hasn’t played a second this season — and his timeline for a return remains unclear.Sign up for Inside the Knicks by Stefan Bondy, a weekly exclusive on Sports+.

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Enjoy this Post Sports+ exclusive newsletter! The Knicks patched that problem by acquiring Karl-Anthony Towns in the preseason, but they don’t have another Hartenstein waiting as a reserve.If Towns’ knee keeps flaring up, they don’t have a dependable option to plug in seamlessly should he miss time and should Rob...