And then, it was just Mitch.
Despite owning home-court advantage in contract negotiations with free agent center Isaiah Hartenstein, the Knicks lost a key member to last season’s miraculous playoff run.
Hartenstein agreed to a three-year deal worth $87 million with the Oklahoma City Thunder, securing a massive payday after a two-year stint with the Knicks.
And he secured more than the Knicks could offer: New York owned Hartenstein’s Early Bird rights and could offer no more than a maximum of a 75 percent raise on his 2023-24 salary, or a four-year, $72.5 million deal.
The average annual value of the Knicks’ best offer came in at $18.1 million.
Hartenstein will earn an average of $29.16 million to join Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren on a title contender out West.
The Knicks are now down to just Mitchell Robinson and Jericho Sims as center options on a team they hope can compete with the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals.
More to come on this developing story.
