Cavs attend Isaiah Hartenstein workout; still potential for him back

I was pleased with Isaiah Hartenstein‘s play for the Cleveland Cavaliers in his time with them after the trade deadline, after which he was dealt to Cleveland by the Denver Nuggets in exchange for JaVale McGee and two future second-round picks.

In that time, Hartenstein averaged 8.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.2 blocks in 17.9 minutes per contest in 16 appearances.

Hartenstein didn’t have much playing time in NBA action in his first two seasons with the Houston Rockets, and while he had more of one with Denver pre-deadline, he had far more action in that stint with Cleveland game-to-game comparatively.

Hartenstein did a nice job primarily off the bench at the 5 in stretches for the Cavaliers, and his touch inside, rolling presence, rebounding activity and rim protection popped to me to a large degree. I don’t discount what he demonstrated as a secondary playmaker, either.

Nonetheless, with Jarrett Allen recently re-signed via five-year, $100 million deal, and with Evan Mobley in the fold, among others, it’s uncertain as to whether Hartenstein could be back. He declined his $1.8 million player option for next season, and he was not extended a qualifying offer by Cleveland.

That said, with what he showed with the Cavs last year in that span of games before being sidelined with a concussion, he still could possibly be re-signed it seems. And along those lines, per a report from Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, the Cavaliers were among the teams that were at a private workout held by Hartenstein in Las Vegas on Friday.

Fedor from there stated in his report that while the Cavs are prioritizing wing depth in free agency, he did say how the “door remains open for a return.”

It’s tough to say if Hartenstein ends up back with the Cavs, but it’d be a sensible move if that occurred.

In regards to the free agency outlook, it’s evident that the Cavaliers should be looking to pursue a free agent shooter such as Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, Garrison Mathews or perhaps Langston Galloway, to a lesser extent.

It’s nice to know that there’s a possibility that Hartenstein could be back with the Cavs, though, per Fedor’s report.

But there will be other potential suitors for the 23-year-old 7-footer, as one would assume. And per a report from Sam Amico of Hoops Wire, those others are believed to be the Milwaukee Bucks, Toronto Raptors, Oklahoma City Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves and Charlotte Hornets. So we’ll have to see on that front with the promising young big.

Even with Allen and Mobley in the fold, and perhaps Larry Nance Jr./Dean Wade and to a lesser degree Kevin Love in relation to the 5 position at times, Hartenstein could be a solid rotational contributor to have for Cleveland. That’s with Mobley set to play seemingly a bunch at the 4 anyway and with him needing to fill out gradually.

Furthermore, Hartenstein could be a nice depth 5 man option once again, with his rim protection, screening/rolling, interior touch and passing abilities.

It’s uncertain at this point, however, as to whether there’s a good shot that Hartenstein could be back, but I’d much rather have him as a rotational option as opposed to say, the non-guaranteed Mfiondu Kabengele sticking around to/through next season.

Maybe the Cavs could commit $3 million of their $9.5 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception, with a multi-year deal if needed, to offer Hartenstein to come back? Or perhaps Cleveland might consider using that amount via the $3.7 million bi-annual exception for Hartenstein for next season?

We’ll have to see, and the Cavaliers should be pursuing wing shooting help, as we noted.

Regardless, with what Hartenstein showcased post-trade last season, and to help bring along Mobley to an extent, the Cavs should strongly consider bringing him back via team-friendly deal. I couldn’t blame Isaiah for potentially signing elsewhere, though.