Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green shared his thoughts on Oklahoma City Thunder big man Chet Holmgren. He believes that the general public – and the media – have been too hard on Holmgren. Or, at the very least, they have blown the situation out of proportion. Trading Holmgren is not the solution.
Holmgren had a rough Western Conference finals. He didn’t show up against the San Antonio Spurs, especially on the offensive end. And it put the Thunder in a very tough position, as they were down Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell, which left Shai Gilgeous-Alexander without much offensive support. Holmgren didn’t step up.
But Green thinks the solution is for him to work on his game, not for the Thunder to trade him.
During a recent episode of his podcast, The Draymond Green Show, Green shared the following rant. It’s long, but it’s worth the read because it’s exactly the message OKC should be amplifying right now.
“How about this guy need to go back and get in the lab and get better and go work on his game because this guy just exposed all your weaknesses and showed everything that you need to get better at. What about the criticism of he need to get back in the lab this summer and be motivated and get better? Why is it we need to trade him? Like these takes they they just seem to get a little lazy at times to me, like trade him, why is all of a sudden everything always about the trade? Up, trade this guy, trade that guy, trade like, what? I just don't understand it.
“So, no, I don't expect Chet Holmgren to be traded. They will have to make some moves because I also don't foresee OKC paying $250 million in salary and taxes next year and going into the second apron. I don't see that either. So they will have to make some decisions, maybe Lu Dort, maybe Hartenstein, maybe trade Joe, maybe trade Wiggins. Like they're going to have to make some tough decisions for sure.
“Maybe they trade them picks because if they if they sign their 12th and 17th pick and they keep those and draft those players, it's going to cost them in the first year those salaries $80 million over the course of those two players. So maybe they do some of that stuff, but the whole trade Chet Holmgren is blasphemous, what he did this year.”
As Green mentioned, the Thunder’s summer won’t be particularly easy. He doesn’t think they’ll be willing to be a second-apron team next season, and that makes sense.
That means OKC will have to part ways with some expensive players. Guys like Isaiah Hartenstein, Alex Caruso, Lu Dort, Isaiah Joe, or Aaron Wiggins. They need to cut some salaries.
But Holmgren isn’t the type of guy the Thunder should just up and trade. He’s too good, even though he did struggle during the WCF. He’s just too talented.
First and foremost, Holmgren’s defensive abilities cannot be denied. He’s an elite defender and was named to the NBA’s All-Defensive First Team this year. That’s not the type of player you just trade after one rough series.
Holmgren just needs to get in the gym. Just like Green said. The Thunder need him to get in the lab this summer and work on his offensive game because they can’t have a repeat of the WCF.
The solution is for Holmgren to improve his offensive game, not for the Thunder to trade him.
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