Caruso, Hartenstein and the Thunder's championship blueprint - ESPN

GENERAL MANAGER SAM Presti and a contingent of Oklahoma City Thunder front office officials flew to Eugene, Oregon, to make a recruiting pitch to Isaiah Hartenstein as soon as NBA rules permitted at the opening of the 2024 free agency window.

Hartenstein was a journeyman center, a second-round pick who had toiled in the G League. He had been waived by one team and traded by another before establishing himself as an essential role player for the New York Knicks, his fifth club in his first five years in the NBA. He was also the most important free agency target in the Thunder franchise's history.

But there was no sizzle in Presti's pitch, no hint of playing to Hartenstein's pride.

«I can't promise you minutes,» Presti said as the meeting began, according to Hartenstein's recollection. «I can't promise you a role. But I can promise you a culture.»

Presti could also make a couple of other awfully enticing promises: a chance to compete for a championship and a contract far richer than the Knicks could offer to keep Hartenstein.

Presti had exercised extreme patience the previous season, when the Thunder became the youngest No. 1 seed in NBA history. The Thunder had accumulated a massive stockpile of draft picks during the franchise's rapid rebuild, so Presti had enough assets to pursue a blockbuster deal in the trade market, had he chosen to do so. But Presti wanted to evaluate Oklahoma City's core in its first playoffs together instead of making any significant changes.

Oklahoma City made two deals at that deadline, but neither upgraded the roster right away. Gordon Hayward didn't contribute much to Oklahoma City in the final months of his career, but the trade to acquire him from the Charlotte Hornets created financial