Dynasty Warriors' Blueprint Shows What Thunder Should Do with Chet Holmgren

Since the Oklahoma City Thunder's Game 7 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday, everyone has given their two cents on Chet Holmgren.

The third-team All-NBA center had just four points and two field-goal attempts in the Thunder's 111-103 loss. It's clear that 7'4" phenom Victor Wembanyama got in his head.

The prevailing thought has been that the Thunder should trade Holmgren and draft capital for Giannis Antetokounmpo. But it hasn't stopped there. Holmgren has been subject of other trade ideas, including as part of a package to get Duke star Cam Boozer on draft night.

The implication is that the Thunder have to make a big change to their core to get over the Wembanyama hump.

Maybe they should make a big move. But they shouldn't trade Holmgren.

How Warriors' Dynasty Can Shape Thunder's Decision

No, the Thunder can't simply sign a Kevin Durant-level player to join their Big Three. So in that sense, it's difficult to compare the current Thunder to the 2016 Warriors after they lost in the Finals.

But the Thunder can look at how the Warriors handled their Big Three to help them decide what to do.

Essentially, it wasn't always obvious that Golden State would keep its Big Three together. The Warriors almost traded Klay Thompson for Kevin Love, but Jerry West famously avoided that, understanding the value that Thompson had as a perfect piece next to Stephen Curry.

Holmgren is a great fit next to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He averages about 17 points without needing the ball much. He stretches the floor but also is effective driving closeouts and rolling to the basket.

He's even better on defense, placing second in 2025-26 Defensive Player of the Year voting.

Outside of this series against Wembanyama, he's consistently been a dominant playoff performer.

Holmgren is 24 years old. Thompson didn't reach anything close to his peak until his 24-year-old season. Draymond Green broke out as a 24-year-old and then had his best season as a 25-year-old.

Holmgren is already a great player, and there's no reason to think he's done improving. It would be shortsighted to trade him.

What the Thunder Should Do

Of their Big Three, Jalen Williams is the most expendable, as the Thunder have actually been better with him off the court than on over the last two regular seasons, per Cleaning the Glass.

But most of what I said about Holmgren applies to Williams. After all, Williams is just 25 and should be primed for the best season of his career in 2026-27. Trading him would be more understandable but still not the move I'd make it.

Tom Haberstroh had the right idea when he suggested the Thunder trade up for Cam Boozer, but my spin on it is they should do it with a haul of draft picks while keeping their Big Three.

Boozer would be their KD-like move aimed to make them unstoppable. And he'd be affordable with his rookie-scale contract.

Of course, there's no guarantee that Boozer will be a dominant NBA player (or even in the strastosphere of KD). But the fit is amazing, as Boozer would play the 4 while Holmgren provides rim protection at the 5 to mask his defensive weaknesses.

The Thunder already have a dominant Big Three. They should add to it, not trade from it.

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