The league's most championship contenders this season are undoubtedly the Celtics in the East and the Thunder in the West. Although the competition in the West for records is fierce, no team can shake the status of the Thunder at the moment. The Thunder are indeed significantly more dominant on both ends of the floor than any other team in the West.

At present, the Thunder are still at the top of the Western Conference in the absence of Holmgren, the team's main core. Without Holmgren's rim protection on the inside, they remain the league's most efficient defender. This is enough to see how strong the Thunder have been this season. Many fans believe that the Thunder now have all the ingredients to compete for a championship, and Alexander has become a leader with a big heart after several seasons of training, and he is also expected to challenge for MVP this season. The Thunder really have a good chance of winning this year's championship under his leadership.

But for the Thunder management, although the team is in a good situation right now and is expected to win a championship, they need to think about the future. The future is not optimistic for the Thunder, as they may struggle to keep the current Big Three of the Thunder at the same time. Alexander will inevitably get a super-max contract after this contract ends. But the headache for the management is that Jalen Williams and Holmgren are likely to get the maximum salary in the future, especially Jalen Williams is now fully capable of getting the maximum salary.

This season, Jalen Williams is averaging 21.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5 assists per game. He shot 50.5 percent from the field and 38.4 percent from three-point range. His stats deserve a max contract, and if he's willing to leave, other teams will rush to offer him a max contract. And Holmgren will also need to get a max salary contract in the future, so for a small ball city like the Thunder, it is difficult for them to accommodate three max contract contracts at the same time. Therefore, they are likely to repeat the mistakes of the Thunder three young people and be forced to choose to dismantle the Big Three lineup.

So for the Thunder, their current championship window is very short, and they must try to challenge for the championship in the last two years. Fortunately, now that the Thunder have the ability to compete for a championship, they must not waste such an opportunity. And the reason why they did everything possible to recruit Hartenstein this offseason is also to be able to go all out for the championship this year. I hope that the Thunder team can win the championship in the last 2~3 years, even if the management wants to keep the big three at the same time, the reality of the team is more than enough, and winning the championship is also a goal for the management to complete a stage.