DHJ Quick Take: Thunder’s Summer Plan
- Commitment to Holmgren: Despite rampant outside speculation following his Western Conference Finals struggles against Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs, the Oklahoma City Thunder have zero intention of moving Chet Holmgren and view him firmly as a long-term cornerstone.
- Series Backlash Dismissed: The newly minted All-Star faced heavy criticism after averaging just 10.7 points in the seven-game series loss—including a four-point performance in Game 7—but the organization and teammates have publicly backed his structural importance to their success.
- No Antetokounmpo Pursuit: In addition to keeping Holmgren out of trade discussions, Oklahoma City is reportedly not pursuing Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is widely anticipated to be moved elsewhere this offseason.
The Oklahoma City Thunder plan to keep Chet Holmgren despite the All-Star struggling in the Western Conference Finals against Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs, according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line.
Holmgren will make $41.3 million next season. The enormous five-year, $290 million extension he signed with the Thunder in 2025 kicks in during the 2026-27 campaign.
For OKC this season, Holmgren averaged 17.1 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. He made his first All-Star team, first All-NBA team and first All-Defensive team.
Fischer also reports that the Thunder are not pursuing a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade. The Milwaukee Bucks are expected to trade the future Hall of Famer this offseason.
“As much as the idea of Thunder splurging for Giannis to counter Wemby might make sense on paper, league sources with knowledge of the Thunder’s thinking continue to dismiss them as a legitimate Giannis Antetokounmpo suitor,” Fischer wrote.
OKC lost to the Spurs in this year’s conference finals in seven games after winning the 2025 championship against the Indiana Pacers. Holmgren averaged 10.7 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game in the San Antonio series. He took only two shots and finished with four points in Game 7.
It appears the Thunder will continue to build around Holmgren, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams, three of the top young players in the NBA.
As for The Greak Freak, Antetokounmpo will make $58.5 million next season. He has a player option worth $62.8 million for the 2027-28 season. The 2021 Finals MVP has been heavily linked to the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics in trade rumors. The Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors are known to have trade interest in Antetokounmpo as well.
Antetokounmpo has spent his entire NBA career with the Bucks. He’s a two-time MVP, one-time Finals MVP, one-time Defensive Player of the Year and 10-time All-Star.
A top-75 player of all time, Antetokounmpo holds career averages of 24.1 points, 9.9 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.2 blocks per game. The star forward doesn’t have a no-trade clause in his contract. Most people who cover the NBA believe the Heat will land the swingman. Antetokounmpo and Miami All-Star Bam Adebayo have the same agent.
For the Bucks this season, Antetokounmpo averaged 27.6 points, 9.8 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game. Milwaukee missed the playoffs for just the third time in the Giannis era.
While it would be fun to see Antetokounmpo play with SGA, it’s not going to happen.
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