OKC Thunder star Chet Holmgren is someone the Warriors are being urged to monitor as a trade target heading into the 2026-27 campaign.
Marcus Thompson of The Athletic recently floated Holmgren's name as a player Golden State should be "paying attention to," suggesting his flop potential coupled with Oklahoma City's rising payroll as factors that could lead to the big man being moved in the not-too-distant future.
Holmgren finds himself coming off a career-best year in OKC, as he posted stellar all-around 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. His efforts also placed him second in the running for Defensive Player of the Year.
However, despite his regular-season successes and his underrated early-round playoff dominance, the egg he laid against the Spurs in OKC's ill-fated Western Conference Finals run has left a bad taste in many fans' mouths.
This lackluster showing coming as his lofty new five-year, $239.2 million max contract is ready to kick in has led to the ongoing belief that Chet could be another casualty of Oklahoma City's battle against the second apron.
With superstar Stephen Curry now playing through the twilight years of his career, Thompson believes the fading Dubs dynasty could be enticed to take a swing at trading for Holmgren to set themselves up for a successful ride once their superstar calls it quits.
Thunder have openly discussed disinterest in trading Chet Holmgren
Despite Thompson's proposal for the Warriors to target Chet in a trade, the odds of such a happening taking place are quite low.
Even with his putrid showing in the conference finals, where he dropped a mere four points on two shot attempts total in their Game 7 elimination, Sam Presti has been vocal about his disinterest in moving on from the big man, referring to him as "one of our guys" during his exit interviews.
Yes, it's undeniable that Holmgren's struggles against San Antonio play a major role in the Thunder falling short of going back-to-back. It's also undeniable that, considering his age, size, and two-way skill set, he's only bound to get better as the years go by.
Even superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander fully believes this, as he said directly after the club's playoff bouncing that, when the big man is playing at his best, "we are the best version of ourselves."
Since he first suited up for the Thunder, they've yet to finish lower than first in the Western Conference standings.
That's no coincidence, and it's not a trend Oklahoma City should be looking to tinker with at this point.
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