Chet Holmgren on OKC Thunder Offseason Moves 'Like Losing a Family Member'

Summer is a time of change in the NBA. New faces enter the league, old faces head to new places, and nearly every team talks themselves into the coming winter being the start of their winning journey. In the midst of the moving and shaking in the sports world's most transactional league, there are tough decisions to make. Some due to financial reasons, some due to production on the court, and some a combination of the two.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are fresh off three straight years of sitting atop the Western Conference. Two Western Conference Finals bids in that span, including a championship in 2025. Their young core continues to inch closer to its prime and bigger paydays. After falling to the San Antonio Spurs in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals back in May, the Thunder have been busy this offseason.

It started in the 2026 NBA Draft, where the OKC Thunder brought in three new prospects in Aday Mara (No. 12 overall), Bennett Stirtz (No. 16 overall) and Otega Oweh (No. 41 overall).

Then, the team elected to re-sign Isaiah Hartenstein to a long-term pact, keeping its starting center and one of the best big men in the league in Bricktown. On top of retaining Hartenstein, the Thunder re-upped with veteran bench big Kenrich Williams.

From there, it was the difficult choices of shipping sharpshooting guard Isaiah Joe, Defensive ace Lu Dort, and bench scorer Aaron Wiggins out East in trades that netted second-round picks, no player in return, and saved $240 millon in luxury tax.

This trio has been pivotal in the Thunder's success story. Not only were all three on the Thunder's title team, but Joe and Wiggins were key in the Thunder's regular-season success, winning more than 60 games the last two campaigns. Dort had show-stopping moments in the 2025 playoff run to save the team's title chances and push them over the hump.

In what will go down as the first offseason where Oklahoma City has truly lost highly impactful pieces of the core for on-court and off-court reasons, this will be the topic of conversation until games start again.

On Saturday, at a USA Basketball Foundation charity event in California, the Thunder's All-NBA big man Chet Holmgren was asked about the offseason moves.

"Man, it's like losing a family member. That's how the business of this game goes," Holmgren explained. "No team, all 17 guys, sticks together forever. But it doesn't make it hurt less when you see guys go. At the same time, I'm excited for [Dort and Wiggins] and the opportunity they're going to have in Atlanta. I'm happy for whatever major milestones they reach over there."

While this has obviously been an emotional loss to the locker room, as this Thunder team is well-documented as a tight-knit group, Holmgren made it clear that he still believes in the direction of the squad.

"I have complete trust in our team and the moves they make," Holmgren detailed. "I trust what they're doing is to get it right. It's my job to be in the gym all summer to get my stuff right."

Oklahoma City, without question, fell short of its goal of winning a title. That was partly due to injuries and partly due to lackluster showings. The Thunder will look to learn the lessons from the Spurs' ousting them in seven games.

"We learned the same lesson [in 2026] as the year that we won it: It was almost more of a reminder of just how hard it is to accomplish, and how much goes into it," Holmgren said. "There is no guarantee. You can put in all the work and still come up short. At the end of the day, you have to be okay with putting in the work with no guaranteed outcome. We came up short this year. That doesn't change the process."

The Thunder are attempting to climb back to the mountain top this season and are posied as one of the league's biggest contenders. Holmgren growth and development from last year's disappointing Western Conference Finals will be a big factor in the team's success. With his noted work ethic, combined with his talent, it is easy to expect a bigger showing during the 2027 postseason.

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