Just one year after their 2025 NBA Championship, the Oklahoma City Thunder lost in the Western Conference finals, and Chet Holmgren took a lot of heat. He struggled on offense, and the Thunder ended up losing in Game 7 to the San Antonio Spurs. Now, it seems like the Thunder are likely to retain Isaiah Hartenstein this summer, and Holmgren should be grateful – to a degree.
All season, there were rumblings. Will the Thunder bring back Hartenstein? Is he too expensive? Will Hartenstein be a second-apron casualty? Well, now it looks like the Thunder will bring him back on a new, more team-friendly deal. That will let Holmgren continue to play a lot of power forward minutes – which is good – but it also means the Thunder want a bit of insurance at the five spot.
The Thunder don’t really want Holmgren to be their full-time center. And that’s okay.
Thunder bringing Isaiah Hartenstein back is good for Chet Holmgren
Since the end of the Thunder’s season, the Holmgren talks have been loud. But there’s a balance to everything, and some people seem to be going overboard with their criticism.
First and foremost, Holmgren does deserve a certain level of criticism for his playoff performance this season. He just wasn’t good enough. He needs to be much, much better on the offensive end moving forward.
But the people who were suggesting that the Thunder trade Holmgren are ridiculous. He’s still an All-Star. One bad series doesn’t change that. And his defense is integral to OKC’s success.
Holmgren could play center. He could be the Thunder’s every-night guy at the five spot. But it seems as though OKC is more comfortable having him primarily play power forward.
The Thunder want Hartenstein back, and it’s not hard to see why. He’s a bruising force down low, capable of guarding big men and running the pick-and-roll at a high level. His float game is elite.
His presence in the Thunder’s starting lineup allows Holmgren to slide down to the power forward position, meaning he doesn’t have to bang as much with bigger-bodied centers. That’s good for him.
But for Holmgren, that also means OKC doesn’t really want him to be that full-time center for them. And at this point, they should probably be more comfortable with it.
If Holmgren were ready to take over that job on a more full-time basis, perhaps they could let Hartenstein walk and save some second-apron money.
At the same time, Holmgren is probably best as a power forward, so having Hartenstein playing alongside him will only enhance his best qualities.
It’s an odd mix of feelings.
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