Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti made clear how committed the organization is to embattled center Chet Holmgren.
Holmgren has faced questions about his future after he was thoroughly erased by Victor Wembanyama during the team’s loss to the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals. Presti, however, sees this as an experience that Holmgren can grow from.
“chet’s one of our guys. He’s been so impactful. He drives winning on so many different levels for us,” Presti said. “He didn’t have a great series in the last series, but if you go back and look at some of the greatest players in the game, they all have these moments where they run into defeat or struggle. That’s what makes them great players. They’re able to continue to move on from that and improve.”
Sam Presti on Chet Holmgren 🙌
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) June 8, 2026
"He's one of our guys… He didn’t have a great series in the last series… But if you go back and look at some of the greatest players in the game, they all have these moments where they run into defeat or struggle… He's an underdog… That's… pic.twitter.com/xO7b7ycmJ6
In other words, Presti firmly believes Holmgren’s poor series was a bump in the road and not a sign of things to come. That is why a trade is not even on the table.
After an All-NBA season, Holmgren averaged just 10.7 points and 7.1 rebounds per game in the seven-game loss to San Antonio. That is not nearly enough from a player the Thunder have committed to in the form of a five-year, $239.3 million rookie max extension that officially begins next season.
