Following his truly abysmal performance against San Antonio in the Western Conference Finals, pleas for the OKC Thunder to move on from big man Chet Holmgren have grown louder among many fans and pundits.
ESPN's Tim MacMahon, however, is actively shutting down any rumblings about how there could be a parting of ways coming this summer.
During a recent appearance on NBA Today, the long-time sports writer didn't mince words when talking about Holmgren's performance versus the Spurs, admitting that the All-Star had "an awful series."
Regardless, MacMahon still seems more than confident that a string of bad games is not enough for Oklahoma City to consider moving on from Chet, as he went as far as to "promise" that Sam Presti and company will not remotely be entertaining the "idea that it's time to pull the plug."
Frankly, it makes perfect sense that this would be the Thunder's mentality heading into the summer.
Despite playoff shortcomings, Thunder star is still a crucial building block
Holmgren might have played a putrid brand of basketball when it counted most during this year's playoff run, but it still doesn't negate the fact that, as a whole, he finds himself coming off the best season of his career to date.
Through 69 games, the tweener-big posted impressive two-way averages of 17.1 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks on 55.7 percent shooting from the floor and 36.2 percent shooting from deep while earning All-Star, All-NBA, and All-Defensive nods along the way.
He also wound up finishing second in the running for Defensive Player of the Year, ultimately losing out to Spurs star Victor Wembanyama.
Still only 24 years old and coming off just his third season of action in the pros, it's safe to say that while 2025-26 was certainly an impressive campaign, there's still more than enough time for him to improve his craft.
And perhaps the best part about this undeniable truth is the fact that, regardless of how many more personal achievements and accolades he could and presumably should come across throughout the coming years, with the contract extension that he signed last summer, Holmgren's earnings are capped at a flat 25.0 percent max rate.
So, yes, while the "sexy" talking point after their gut-punch loss to San Antonio in Game 7 may be that the Thunder should consider making some sort of splashy move this coming summer, if it comes at the cost of letting Holmgren go, it simply would not be worth it.
According to MacMahon, Presti seems to fully understand this.
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