The Cleveland Cavaliers appear to have acquired a quality piece near the now-past trade deadline from the Denver Nuggets in Isaiah Hartenstein. Cleveland received Hartenstein and two future second-round draft picks in exchange for dealing JaVale McGee to Denver.
It wasn’t clear from the outset what the Cavaliers would be getting from Hartenstein, but he showed plenty of positive signs in his time last season with the Cavs following the deadline.
He didn’t appear in much meaningful playing time with the club that drafted him in the Houston Rockets in the second round in his first two seasons, who would end up waiving him last offseason. Then in his half season with Denver, Hartenstein did have some more of a role, albeit only played an average of 9.5 minutes per outing, in which he had 3.5 points and 2.8 rebounds per contest.
There were glimpses, sure and Hartenstein did show potential in the G League prior to that with Houston’s G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, and he was the 2019 G League Finals MVP with them. He just didn’t get much time in game action with the Rockets.
And in relation to the Nuggets’ situation, this year’s league MVP in Nikola Jokic was going to be getting the lion’s share of 5 minutes, either way though.
Hartenstein would again be traded to the Cavaliers after signing a two-year, minimum deal with Denver last offseason, of which next season, he’s set to have a $1.8 million player option.
Albeit circling back, Hartenstein did prove to be a solid pickup and looks to be a player that Cleveland should look to bring back for next season/perhaps onward. That’s in the assumption that he ends up declining his player option, and that’s reportedly likely to play out, as Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, Hartenstein is looking to get a “more lucrative” deal with more security it seems.
Fortunately, though, Isaiah does like his situation/outlook with Cleveland, and does prefer to re-sign/be Jarrett Allen’s primary backup. And frankly, though he did show promise with the Cavaliers when he was healthy post-deadline, Hartenstein doesn’t have much meaningful NBA experience yet and I wouldn’t imagine it’d realistically cost a bunch to bring him back.
Perhaps a two-year deal perhaps for $3-5 million per year could do that? As an aside, while it was rumored that Spanish club Barcelona was set to target Hartenstein this offseason as a possible free agent agent acquisition with an “NBA out” potentially, based on Fedor’s report, it seems likely that Hartenstein is back with the Cavs. He/his camp didn’t express interest in a potential overseas move, either.
So, with next season in mind for Hartenstein, what might be two goals for him then, provided he’s back?
We’ll take a look at the first next, which relates to his bench production.
Goal #1 for Hartenstein for next season for the Cavs: Average 9.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game
Hartenstein had 8.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.2 blocks in 17.9 minutes per outing in 16 appearances following the 2021 trade deadline with the Cavaliers.
Before he ended up missing most of Cleveland’s closing batch of games of the season due to a concussion, he was making his presence felt on the interior on both ends, and offensively, he did a nice job as a finisher inside and as a rotational roller/screener.
So next season, again provided he’s back with the Cavs, the first goal to me for him would be to, in perhaps a similar minutes-share, to have 9.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.
To me, particularly in spurts against bench bigs, and regardless, really, with the touch Hartenstein displayed with both hands on the interior, and with him having some post-up viability after early-clock seals, he could do his share of damage in spurts offensively.
And with his chemistry developing more with other pieces on the Cavaliers off the bench, he could get some high percentage looks game-to-game via some lobs from Darius Garland/others and again with his finishing via hooks/push shots, that scoring goal doesn’t seem unrealistic for the 7-footer.
As far as the rebounding element, Hartenstein had 6.0 boards in roughly 18 minutes per contest last season, and in relief of Jarrett Allen, with Hartenstein’s positioning, I don’t think that suggested clip is far-fetched.
Even for his size, his feel for getting to the ball off the glass on both ends shouldn’t be discounted, and he typically does a nice job of getting to the ball to key perimeter threats after defensive rebounds.
Plus, after offensive rebounds, he does a commendable job with his timing in at times hitting catch-and-shoot threats before defenses can reset too, for what it’s worth. Hopefully that can play out next season as well.
Goal #2 for Hartenstein for next season for the Cavs: Continue to be a viable rim protector, but keep his fouling more under control
Alright so for the second goal for Hartenstein for next season, provided he’s back, it’s to show that he’s a true rim protector in a rotational sense, but to do so while trimming down on fouls.
Hartenstein again did have 1.2 blocks in nearly 18 minutes per appearance with Cleveland in that 16-game sample, and he had 2.4 blocks per-36 minutes. For his career, albeit with him not as much involved in Houston and Denver, he’s had 2.2 blocks per-36 minutes.
Point being, Hartenstein, who is again a true 7-footer, appears to have good shot blocking/rim protection instincts when he’s been in there.
But for him looking onward, and I’d hope with the Cavaliers in this case, even as mostly a reserve 5, the fouling is some of a concern. He had 5.6 fouls per-36 with the Cavs post-deadline, and for his career, that’s been a clip of 6.9 per-36 overall. Quite simply, even in a rotational sense, he does need to show that he can clean things up in that way.
I want the 23-year-old to still demonstrate he’s an active rotator in that way, and it’s apparent that he can have the ability to deter interior looks/in some spurts, driving threats, similarly to Allen.
Hartenstein just, at least from my perspective, needs to show growth in regards to playing more vertical consistently, and proving that he can be an impact defender on the interior without taking unnecessary fouls. Those can at times make it hard for him to be in for stretches if he’s in particularly rough shape in that realm.
Again, he’ll likely be a reserve 5 in this sort of situation, provided he’s back anyway, so it’s not really a huge deal. But it’s clear that that’s something that needs to be addressed moving forward for the young big.
Overall, though, as we’ve touched on here, I do hope that Hartenstein is back with the Wine and Gold from a depth standpoint.