According to a report from Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, the Rockets are working toward signing 2017 second-round pick Isaiah Hartenstein to an NBA deal with hopes they will reach an agreement by the end of the week.
Hartenstein, 20, had a strong showing for the Rockets during this year’s NBA Summer League after the 7-foot center played for the Rockets’ G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, last season.
Before being selected No. 43 overall in last year’s draft, Hartenstein played with Lithuanian club Zalgiris Kaunas, where he helped lead the team to a seventh straight Lithuanian Basketball Club title.
With the Vipers, Hartenstein averaged 9.5 points and 6.6 rebounds in 18.7 minutes per game, making 57.1 percent of his shots. He averaged 10.3 points and eight rebounds per game during this year’s Summer League.
Hartenstein’s signing could mean the end of center Zhou Qi‘s time with the Rockets. Both big men Nene and Chinanu Onuaku have fully-guaranteed salaries for the upcoming 2018/19 campaign, while Qi has no guaranteed money on his contract that runs through 2021.
Seems like a fallback plan for Capela accepting the QO and walking next offseason.
If Hartenstein is their fallback for Capela then they have no plan…Hartenstein has upside for sure but they can’t rely on him to be anything more than depth
I doubt they’re looking at Hartenstein as a fall back plan for Capela.
The rockets and capela are so apart that’s definitely how he is looked at
One thing is not getting Capela back, but if what you bring for him is Hartenstein, then you are in real trouble, but anyway in my opinion unless Houston pulls something special before the season starts, no Melo ain’t that, cannot see them really repeating the heights they reached this year.
Hartenstein is a good kid and will be a good player. He’s not just a dude who arrived at 7′ and thought ‘I’ll give basketball a go’, his dad was a pro, he’s been around it his whole life.
I feel like anyone with decent coordination and iq could do what Capela does on that team, so long as they’re 6’10″ish, long and agile.
should of went after Noel and turned him into Capela.