Thunder's Chet Holmgren Out; How Are Spurs Affected?
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A rival of the San Antonio Spurs was dealt a crushing blow Thursday morning.
Oklahoma City Thunder rookie Chet Holmgren has been ruled out for the season after suffering a Lisfranc injury during a Seattle Pro-Am game. ESPN was the first to report the news.
Holmgren, the No. 2 pick in this summer's NBA Draft, was expected to help the Thunder improve from its 24-58 record last season.
Now, the Thunder won't have its most promising addition heading into the season and project to be one of the league's worst teams.
This is where the Spurs come back into the picture.
Earlier this summer, the Spurs traded All-Star guard Dejounte Murray for three first-round picks to position themselves in the sweepstakes for the top prospect of the 2023 NBA Draft ... Victor Wembanyama.
Wembanyama, a 7-4 French center with a jump shot and guard-like abilities, is a prospect unlike anyone the NBA has seen before. The Spurs project to be one of the league's worst teams and could make a run for Wembanyama this summer. But now it appears that the Thunder might join them in the Wembanyama sweepstakes.
The Thunder has been accused of "tanking" ever since trading Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers in 2019, and it was possible that even before the injury that there was a good chance the Thunder would have had a shot at the top pick anyway.
If the Thunder had a chance to take the No. 1 pick, it might have been an awkward fit to pair two lanky seven-footers next to each other with Holmgren and Wembanyama. However, Holmgren's injury before he even plays a game might put the Thunder in position to plan a team without him and move towards an even more intriguing prospect that the Spurs have an eye on.
