Cavs: As expected, Isaiah Hartenstein declines PO; will be free agent

For a while to this point, it was reportedly likely that Isaiah Hartenstein would end up declining his $1.8 million player option for next season. For what he provided for the Cleveland Cavaliers following his arrival via deadline day trade from the Denver Nuggets, to go with two future second-round picks, that seemed reasonable.

Hartenstein did not have much of a role at the NBA level in his prior two stints with the Houston Rockets and Nuggets, albeit he did have a bit more of one with Denver in his half season with them pre-trade.

In his time with the Cavs post-deadline though, he looked to be a quality acquisition, in what was (again with the two future 2s) in exchange for JaVale McGee. I get that it was only in 16 games of action with Cleveland, but he had 8.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.2 blocks in 17.9 minutes per appearance.

Before he missed a number of games leading into the close of the 2020-21 campaign because of a concussion, Hartenstein was making his presence felt off the bench.

Nonetheless, as was noted, with the 23-year-old flashing real potential and likely to decline his player option this offseason, it was no shock that he ended up officially doing so. That’s per a report from Shams Charania of The Athletic on Friday.

This was to be expected as a Cavs fan.

This again was no surprise, but there is a chance it seems that Hartenstein could be back. And the Cavs can extend him a $2.2 million qualifying offer to match any potential offer sheets by Aug. 1, as pointed out in a report from Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.

The likes of the Charlotte Hornets, Minnesota Timberwolves and Dallas Mavericks are clubs that are expected to show interest in Hartenstein, per a report from Sam Amico of Hoops Wire and OutKick.

Per that report from Fedor, as a side note, the “other option,” in what was the likely chance Hartenstein would opt out, which happened, is for the two sides to renegotiate a “low-dollar, multi-year, mutually-beneficial deal.”

Admittedly, it is tough to say though, with the Cavaliers having a good possibility of selecting USC big Evan Mobley next week in the 2021 NBA Draft, as KJG’s Justin Brownlow hit on. And with them seemingly likely to invest heavily in Jarrett Allen, if Hartenstein will be back is unclear.

He could be, and either way, would be in a reserve role with Cleveland, and with the also 7-foot Mobley’s passing abilities and guard-like handle, I believe 4-5 lineups with him and Hartenstein for spurts could be an intriguing dynamic at times for the Cavs.

But again for now, I can’t say if he’ll be back, and as Amico alluded to, potential offers for Hartenstein, based on what he showed for the Cavaliers, would obviously be more lucrative than that QO.

And if Mobley ended up being Cleveland’s pick, in particular, Hartenstein might not get a possible offer sheet matched; we’ll have to see on that and/or a separate low-dollar deal with Cleveland in 2021 NBA Free Agency, however.

I would still think that there could be more untapped stuff from Hartenstein, though, and his rotational rim protection, interior touch and playmaking feel were impressive in his Cavs stint pre-injury.