The Los Angeles Clippers have made some significant additions to their roster between now and the beginning of last NBA season. Last year, they traded for Norman Powell and Robert Covington from the Portland Trail Blazers, taking advantage of the meltdown in Rip City to add two quality veteran role players for an extremely low price.
Both Powell and RoCo played extremely well with their new team and are expected to play a large role in the Clippers’ title chase next season when Kawhi Leonard and Paul George make their return. In the 2022 NBA Draft, they shored up their frontcourt by selecting Michigan’s Moussa Diabate with their 43rd-overall pick.
They further locked down their big man rotation by extending young center Ivica Zubac. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Clippers have re-signed their Croatian starting big to a three-year, $33 million extension.
This deal does have significant salary cap implications for Los Angeles. While they were able to retain Nicolas Batum’s “Early Bird” rights, making them eligible to sign him to a deal worth over $5.6 million per year, they’ll have no such advantages with Isaiah Hartenstein’s expiring deal.
LATEST NBA FREE AGENCY NEWS AND TRADE RUMORS: Ivica Zubac Agrees To Contract Extension With LA Clippers
Between Zubac’s extension and John Wall’s impending deal, it appears that Hartenstein will be the odd man out in LA as Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer reported.
With John Wall likely heading to the Clippers at the taxpayer mid-level, that could leave Isaiah Hartenstein with more lucrative offers, like the non-taxpayer mid-level from Chicago. The Bulls have been linked to various rim-protecting centers, but Chicago is expected to preserve room and not offer the full $10.1 million. Hartenstein could stick around with Los Angeles on the cheap and be rewarded later.
The Chicago Bulls will be just one of many interested suitors in Hartenstein in free agency. In fact, the Orlando Magic are reportedly the favorites to sign him, based on Marc Stein’s reporting.
LATEST NBA FREE AGENCY NEWS AND TRADE RUMORS: Ivica Zubac Agrees To Contract Extension With LA Clippers
Isaiah Hartenstein has proven to be one of the more underrated young big men in the entire league and would be a quality pick up for any team looking to add size on a budget. It just remains to be seen if it’ll be the Chicago Bulls, Orlando Magic, or a different team that signs him.
