Isaiah Harteinstein says Brooklyn sabotaged his draft with fake injury / News - Basketnews.com

Hartenstein said the Brooklyn Nets red-flagged him for a knee injury he never had. As such, Hartenstein's stock fell, and he only got drafted in the second despite being projected to go in the first.

Credit: AP Photo/Ashley Landis - Scanpix Credit AP Photo/Ashley Landis - Scanpix

Isaiah Hartenstein was drafted with the 43rd overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. He says he should've been drafted much higher if not for the actions of the Brooklyn Nets.

Isaiah Hartenstein

MIN:24.75PTS:7.26 (65.6%)REB:8.36As:2.24ST:1.11BL:1.12TO:1.17GM:66ProfileNBA2023/2024

In a stacked draft featuring current stars like Jayson Tatum, Lonzo Ball, De'Aaron Fox, Lauri Markkanen, Donovan Mitchell, Bam Adebayo, Jarrett Allen, and OG Anunoby, Harteinstein was projected to go in the first round.

Despite the projection, the German-American big man was only picked in the second round. It's because the Brooklyn Nets red-flagged him for an injury he never had, the player revealed.

"On draft night, Houston wants to talk to you. At the time, I was projected at 15 to 35, and Houston had 43. I'm like, 'Why do they want to talk to me?' I'm on this Zoom call, uninterested, pissed, like, 'Why am I talking to these people right now?' They ended up drafting me because I got red-flagged on draft night from, I think it was, Brooklyn for something I didn't even have," Hartenstein said on the Roommates Show podcast with his New York Knicks teammates Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart.

"They red-flagged me for my knee. I never had knee problems in my life. The only thing I had was something with my back. I knew that, so I was like, 'Maybe it's my back.' But my agent said on draft night, 'Hey, what's wrong with your knee?' I'm like, "What are you talking about? My knee is fine.' He's like, 'Oh, Brooklyn just red-flagged you for your knee. You'll probably drop a couple of spots.' Our draft class was stacked,' the player remembered.

At the time, even Hartenstein himself became unsure whether he didn't have any issues with his knees.

"They said they saw something, so I flew back to Germany. I'd never had anything with my knee, so I flew back to Germany, and I'm like, 'Can y'all check it out?' And they're like, 'There's nothing wrong with your knee,'" Hartenstein revealed.

"Everything worked out perfectly, but at that time, I was at draft night, I think it was after [pick] 35, I was upstairs in the suites, I'm pissed. I'm like, 'Why did they red-flag me? What happened? Why did I drop so far?' Actually, when I got drafted, I was in the restroom. I was in the restroom taking a piss. All I'm hearing is my dad sprinting in, 'Hey, Isaiah, Houston drafted you! Come on!' I didn't wash my hands," the big man concluded to the disgust of his fellow podcast hosts.

Hartenstein has evolved into being a solid role player, averaging 7.4 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.1 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game for the Knicks this season.

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