Oklahoma City Thunder: 2 Season-defining questions and 1 bold prediction

1 Bold prediction for the Oklahoma City Thunder

The Oklahoma City Thunder will regret the Isaiah Hartenstein signing

I honestly don't know what to expect from the Oklahoma City Thunder this season. This is the first time this core is going to enter a season with high expectations. Not only are the Thunder going to be expected to finish as a top 3 seed in the regular season but this is the year where they almost have to take a step forward in the playoffs. After making a second round last year, a trip to the conference finals, at the very least, seems like the next natural progression for the team. One of the big moves the Thunder made during the offseason in an attempt to solidify their chances at taking another step forward was signing Isaiah Hartenstein.

My bold prediction for the Thunder heading into the start of the season is that they will quickly regret the signing of Hartenstein. Oklahoma City is paying Hartenstein like a starter and a supporting star and I'm not sold on him being that for this team.

I'm not even sure he's going to be a great fit in the starting 5 next to Chet Holmgren. That, more than anything, is one of the bigger reasons why the Thunder could end up bringing Hartenstein off the bench by the end of the year. Paying him $30 million per season to come off the bench would be a near disaster.