Bad News Hit All-Defense Player After OKC Thunder Signs Hartenstein To New Deal

The OKC Thunder signed their starting center, Isaiah Hartenstein, to a new deal worth a $75 million contract for three years. The deal includes a maximum 15% trade kicker and a mutual option for the final season. 

A deal is crucial for the Thunder as Hartenstein has been a key factor on the Thunder over the past two years, which included a 2025 NBA championship run. 

However, his new deal may now mean the Thunder would have to part ways with another defensive dynamo who was last year’s All-Defensive Team member. 

The Thunder is now a little over $15 million above the second apron. If they aim to go under that threshold, the Thunder have to decline Lu Dort’s $18.2 million team option or trade him for a cheaper asset. 

The team can also still retain Dort if he declined his contract and sign for a cheaper deal that would keep the Thunder below the second apron. However, that is unlikely. 

Another option would be the Thunder dumping the team option on Kenrich Williams, worth $7.2 million, and the contracts of Nikola Topic and Thomas Sorber. 

The Thunder could also trade Alex Caruso to open up cap space for Dort, but that would be a big mistake due to the value Caruso gives during the NBA playoffs. 

Teams that go over the second apron for a year lose the taxpayer mid-level exception, the inability to sign buyout players, and the ban on sending cash in trades. For three out of five years above the second apron, their first-round pick seven years into the future would be relegated to the end of the round.

Lu Dort Is A Legend in Oklahoma City

GettyOKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA – MAY 30: Luguentz Dort #5 of the Oklahoma City Thunder reacts during Game Seven of the NBA Western Conference Finals at Paycom Center on May 30, 2026 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.  (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

If Dort is let go, it would end his incredible run with the Thunder. Dort, who was undrafted, started as a two-way player in the 2019-2020 season before defending his way to a starting role alongside Chris Paul and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. 

Dort went on to endure the rebuilding years of OKC, where they were at the bottom of the Western Conference standings. That all paid off in 2025 when the team won its first-ever NBA championship, with Dort playing as the team’s go-to perimeter defender. 

Dort averaged 8.3 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game across 69 regular-season games in the 2025–26 NBA campaign. In the 2026 Playoffs, his numbers dipped to 5.5 points and 2.7 rebounds over 15 postseason games. 

In the regular season, Dort shot a career-low 38.5 percent from the field and 34.4 percent from three-point range. In the playoffs, Dort logged 22.3 minutes per game and shot 36.6% from the field and 30.8% from 3-point range.

Lakers Pursue Lu Dort From OKC

GettyOKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA – APRIL 02: Luka Doncic #77 of the Los Angeles Lakers looks for an opening against Luguentz Dort #5 the Oklahoma City Thunder during the first half at the Paycom Center on April 2, 2026 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)

The LA Lakers are among the teams rumored to be interested in Lu Dort, according to NBA insider Jake Fischer. 

“I’m also told that the Lakers have called the Thunder about swingman Lu Dort’s availability,” Fischer wrote on his Substack. 

Dort would fit well with the Lakers, giving them a solid defensive player and a streaky shooter alongside Luka Doncic and LeBron James. 

However, it would mean the Thunder would have to face Dort often in the Western Conference. Dort could be key for a team to stop Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, having been teammates both in OKC and on the Canadian national team for over six years. 

For now, all cards are on the deck of Thunder general manager Sam Presti. 

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