Isaiah Hartenstein is a Knick no longer, as the center inked a multi-year contract with the Thunder on Monday, leaving New York in need of another big to complement Mitchell Robinson.
Many Knicks fans lamented the loss of Hartenstein after he showed his value as a passing center who could own the offensive glass in crunch time, but Keith says it is an overreaction from the fanbase.
“This is a guy that was a backup at this time last year. When he started to rise…people didn’t know who he was,” Keith said. “You knew you were gonna lose him. There was an interview that he had during the playoff run when someone asked him about his future, and he said, matter-of-factly, ‘I’m gonna get paid.’
“There was only so much money the Knicks could offer him…the Knicks had an offer for four years and $72.5 million, and that was the most money they could offer him.”
Sure, Hartenstein emerged as a valuable center last season, especially in the playoffs, but Keith says Knicks fans shouldn’t act like there is no replacement that can do what Hartenstein did.
“Act like you’ve been there. I know you literally can’t act like you’ve been there…but understand that back-to-back years, you were bounced in the second round,” Keith said. “As fun as those years were and some of those games were, you failed. So your attachment to iHart, I don’t understand. Not only can they still thrive without him, they might actually do better.
“‘We can’t win a championship without iHart.’ What are we talking about?”