I'm a little worried about this guy, not sure if he deserves that spot. Laterally looks slow not much lift..... again I hope I'm wrong.
Wow. TBH I’m not at all impressed with this kid. During summer league he showed how easily he could get stripped bc of weak hands. This is one of those signings that DM makes so that he feels good about even drafting this kid. He’s definitely showed more promise than Onuaku BUT not more than House or Deng. It’s crazy to me that DM could sit at every HOU Rockets SL game, watch House do work and not even offer him a 2-way!! Instead he offers this scrub a contract and House signs with THE GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS!!!! I really hope DM gets his crap together and looks to signing Adel Deng who also played very well and can definitely be a 3&D guy in the near future for us.
It took 3/4 years to D.Mo to come out of the D-League and be able stay in the rotation, let's see what Hartenstein can do, he's less polished and slower than D.Mo, but stronger, better shot blocker, rebounder and can shot well fts, worth to develop imo.
I know I am getting really f'n old but he looks like his balls just dropped. He reminds me of that kid who works at krusty burgers, Jeremy Freedman.
This is a good young addition to this team. I like the length, i like the suprising athleticism. Watched him in person in summer league, sat in front of his mom and grandparents in fact. I think if the draft were held today, hes probably shown enough progress over 1-yr to be a late 1st roumd value. This is not an onuaku signing, i expect this kid to get minutes in the NBA some day soon.
He's only 20 years old. He's not ready right now. I'm sure the Rockets would have preferred to stash him away for another season to let him develop some more. But if he wanted to play in the NBA this season we had to offer him a contract or lose his rights.
Come on man, I have my doubts about this guy too but I would much rather use a roster spot on a just turned 20 year old 7 footer than a 25 year old House who honestly grown on trees in the NBA. Guys like Troy Williams, Danuel House, Von Wafer are all cut from the same cloth. They are just not consistent enough on offense and are also terrible defenders with no ability to improve on the defensive side. They are just not cerebral enough to play within a system in the NBA for long periods of time especially on defense. Give the non-stiff 7 footer that is 20 years old every day of the week. If we need to sign Deng or some other promising player this signing won't keep us from doing that. Onuaku has had his chances so I would cut him well before Hartenstein as he has more desire in his finger than Onuaku does in his whole body. Give the guy a chance to develop. I remember DMo and Capela were looked at as busts this early in their career and it is because they are just getting use to being 7 feet so with the right coaching and work ethic Hartenstein is worth the risk of a roster spot over your typical 6' 7" offensive swing man who occasionally can light it up but not play any defense.
I will say one of the things that separates a good 7 footer vs. bad 7 footer is hands. Dmo and Capela developed their hands most of all and their footwork. I don't see any reason why this guy can't develop his hands better and his footwork. There is nothing worse than a 7 footer with stone hands (Omer Asik) although even he developed a decent set of hands when he was here. Having Harden and/or Paul passing to him may help with that. He obviously has work to put in but I believe Daryl and the scouts see a lot of potential and a solid work ethic which is half the battle that is needed when dealing with a 20 year old 7 footer.
