Isaiah Hartenstein believes OKC Thunder have accepted new NBA reality: 'Sunk in now'

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A week into the P.D.C.C. era (post-Dub, Caso, Chet), the Oklahoma City Thunder must move on. Somber vibes have surrounded this team over the last handful of games. Understandably so, but if they're going to salvage the 2026-27 season, then they have to move forward. The NBA schedule is unforgiving.

After Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was short-worded on how the Thunder can move on without Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren and Cason Wallace for the next two months, Isaiah Hartenstein had a much more upbeat approach to their all-time dire situation.

"I think we’re at a point where stuff has all kind of sunk in now," Hartenstein said ahead of OKC's matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers. "We’re ready to move forward and ready to get back to the way we want to play and just approach each game like that."

If the Thunder are taking a minute to wrap their heads around their new grim reality, it's understandable. The OKC fanbase and the NBA world are doing the same. On a random October night, they lost three of their four best players to long-term injuries. I mean, the odds of that have to be astronomically small.

Williams sustained a fractured fibula and a dislocated ankle. Wallace sustained a torn labrum on his left shoulder. Both had surgery and will be re-evaluated before the 2027 NBA playoffs. And then — in a delayed development — Holmgren had a small torn patellar tendon. He had an injection to address it and is out for two-plus months.

The Thunder have to recalibrate their expectations. They entered the 2026-27 regular season as co-title favorites. Now, it's all about picking up the remaining parts and gluing together a competent postseason team. That's going to take a learning curve — as evidenced by their blowout losses to the Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets — but Gilgeous-Alexander is a bright-enough NBA superstar to keep them in most games.

Let's see how the next two months play out. I think it will determine a lot how the Thunder operate at the 2027 NBA trade deadline. Could they keep their head above water until help arrives? If so, then Gilgeous-Alexander and Holmgre are an All-NBA talent duo that should be a wildcard contender. Even more so if they get a miraculous return or two by the postseason.

But if things go sideways and the Thunder completely bottom out, Hartenstein could be in line to get moved elsewhere. Such is the tonal shift in the realities of OKC's new world. He took a pay cut to stick around for one more year to contend for a ring. Now, that's out the window.

Overall, this is a doomsday scenario. No sugarcoating it. The Thunder have been completely obliterated with injuries. More so than any previous injury-plagued year. But with 76-plus games to go, all they can do is move forward and hope they can figure out some magic to keep them in the title hunt.

Let's see if Hartenstein's vibe-reading device is accurate. How the Thunder look against the Cavaliers will determine if they're truly at the acceptance stage of grief or are still stuck in shock.

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This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Isaiah Hartenstein believes OKC Thunder have accepted new NBA reality: 'Sunk in now'

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