The Oklahoma City Thunder have one of the best rosters in basketball. They won a championship just two years ago, and last year they made it to Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals before losing to the San Antonio Spurs. This summer, they spent their time finding a way to get under the second apron, and that's going to be a problem moving forward, too. And Chet Holmgren – though the Thunder should absolutely not trade him – should definitely be looking over his shoulder.
Holmgren has one of the most expensive contracts on the Thunder. And last year during the playoffs, he was completely unreliable on offense. Plus, the Thunder have some great depth at the center position. So, in theory, if you're looking to shed salary from OKC's books, Holmgren could be a reasonable place to look.
That said, one bad playoff run shouldn't be enough to throw Holmgren on the trade block. He's too important to the future of the Thunder organization to trade. OKC should definitely keep him around, but it's impossible to ignore the financial implications.
Chet Holmgren will inevitably be thrown into ugly second-apron talks
Holmgren is on a max contract. And in today's NBA, with the second apron and the new CBA bearing down on teams, you have to be very careful who you hand max contracts to.
In the case of Holmgren, you're getting one of the best defenders in the NBA. And for the most part, that should be enough. He's just that good on the defensive end of the court.
The problem is, Holmgren has been very inconsistent on the offensive end. And in the playoffs last year, that came back to bite him in a big way. He couldn't do anything against Victor Wembanyama.
OKC has been stacking Center depth for years. They have Isaiah Hartenstein, who they acquired in free agency a couple of years ago. They also have Aday Mara, Jaylin Williams, and Thomas Sorber, all of whom they drafted.
None of those three are anywhere near as good as Holmgren on the defensive side of the ball just yet, and in the case of Hartenstein, he's much older than Holmgren, so he doesn't necessarily fit Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams’ timeline.
So, if the Thunder are going to shed money, they would probably look elsewhere. However, when you look at the Thunder’s center depth and how much they are paying Holmgren, who struggles on the offensive end, it's not a stretch to say that the star big man should at least keep one eye in the back of his head.
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