With the NBA season less than two months away, here are three questions the Thunder offense must answer:

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Will this be the playmaking team Sam Presti envisioned?

As far as a drive-and-kick offense goes, the Thunder seems to have all the proper pieces in place.

An offensive engine in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, equipped with every possible gear and pivot to drive defenders off the road; ball handlers who understand the angles and make the immediate read; guards and wings who've undergone OKC’s screen-setter screening; shooting threats all around.

But how will OKC look once it's pushed even further? When its guard-to-guard screens don’t work as well as they do in Atlanta on a Tuesday, when a playoff series challenges all its regular-season norms?

Will the team general manager Sam Presti assembled be capable of the playmaking he deemed necessary following the Thunder’s postseason loss to Dallas?

Even without any artful facilitators on the roster, the circumstances are different from a year ago. While losing its most capable passer in Josh Giddey, OKC unlocked a level of sustainable spacing that wasn’t possible with him.

The team should create more advantages with its drive-and-kick, forcing teams to help harder and make tougher decisions than before. Teams will likely force OKC to make the skip pass, which, should the team’s ball handlers be up for it, will be available for the kill.

OKC is still anticipating necessary leaps as decision makers from Chet Holmgren, Cason Wallace and Jalen Williams (more on that later). But with Isaiah Hartenstein, who’s shown enough as a high post-hub, the Thunder should run into fewer dead ends.

It’ll take some creativity and guts, but the Thunder will have options to toy with in the halfcourt.

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What lineups will maximize Isaiah Hartenstein?

The question of whether Isaiah Hartenstein should or shouldn’t start is gearing toward a civil war.

Thunder fans will rejoice with interlaced fingers when they realize he’ll teeter between starting and not starting games based on matchups. Regardless, it doesn’t matter so much as what lineups the big man plays with.

Among the things to consider is what lineups require his presence most. During the dog days of the season, that’s probably where he’ll be found most. That’s most obviously in the lineups without Chet Holmgren, which yearn for a rim protector. That could very well be inside second units run by Williams, alongside a movement shooter like Isaiah Joe, slotted in with an aspiring playmaker like Cason Wallace.

And in the early season, perhaps he’ll be found alongside Holmgren often, with coach Mark Daigneault hoping to get the necessary data to see how well they work together.

Maybe that means using Holmgren as a movement shooter when they’re together. Maybe that means inverted pick-and-rolls. Fans are creative, but maybe not as creative as the mad scientists inside the Thunder facilities.

OKC, overflowing with talent and bodies, will have ample time to find out what works. And the results just might please all parties who are curious about Hartenstein’s role.

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What might the Jalen Williams leap look like?

Year 3 could mean plenty for Jalen Williams.

He entered the summer knowing where he needed to improve. As last season progressed, he gradually saw attention from defenses closer to that of Gilgeous-Alexander than a typical sophomore. He watched the Mavericks push him higher up the floor. He saw them take away his best pick-and-roll partner more often than not. Dallas forced decisions he hadn’t always had to make.

If the Thunder is ever meant to win a championship with this core, Williams will need to make those decisions. He’ll need to display precision and IQ, vision and creativity — all things he’s shown in different ways. The table is set for him to take the leap if it’s in him.

OKC swapped Giddey, who could often kill creativity with the way teams defended him, for Alex Caruso, who’ll add to the array of shooters Williams can feed. It added another pick-and-roll partner in Hartenstein.

Still, there are lingering improvements that will be up to Williams, like cleaning up his handle and making the paths to his spots more efficient. So how much more can Williams raise his ceiling?

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Three questions OKC Thunder needs to answer about offense for 2024-25