Isaiah Hartenstein out at least a month

Rylan Stiles: I asked Chet Holmgren about playing with Isaiah Hartenstein “I think it’s been fun so far. It’ll continue to be. He is a really good player, he brings a different dynamic to this team than we’ve had in the past. It’s really fun to play with somebody with that style of play because it’s so different from what we’ve done…it allows us to do different things on the floor, especially myself personally…I am extremely excited, he is excited, we are both here to do whatever we are asked to do to try to win.” -via Twitter @Rylan_Stiles / October 10, 2024

Isaiah says the 2011 Dallas Mavericks champion center took him under his wing in Houston, where Chandler instilled the importance of quarterbacking a defense from the center position. Hartenstein shared his past with reporters after training camp on Thursday. “I had to learn it. I feel like, especially coming in as a rookie, I probably wasn’t talking as much as I should. A big guy [who helped me] with that was Tyson Chandler,” Hartenstein said. “I played with him with the Rockets. He taught me how important communication is. Learning from those guys helped me a lot.” -via Clutch Points / October 4, 2024

Hartenstein played on the same team as SGA during scrimmages, where last year’s MVP candidate saw the difference his new center could make this upcoming season as one of his new teammates.“ His physicality is big. He sets screens, he rolls. It’ll give us a different look, for sure,” Gilgeous-Alexander added. “Obviously, a lot of our offense is slip-and-screens and trying to get out fast and get underneath. He gives us a different element, for sure.” -via Clutch Points / October 2, 2024