After the 2025 NBA Finals, the basketball world thought the Oklahoma City Thunder were set up to win multiple championships, and maybe even had the opportunity to be the league’s first repeat winner since the Golden State Warriors dynasty in the late 2010s.
Then, Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs appeared.
After a hard-fought seven-game series in the Western Conference Finals, Oklahoma City’s season came to a close, and a lot of the blame has been placed on Chet Holmgren.
The Thunder’s second overall pick in the 2022 draft had a dud for the ages, playing 33 minutes and taking only two shots, scoring four points, and recording four rebounds.
If Holmgren is going to struggle like this every time they face Wemby and the Spurs, should OKC consider trading their stretch five?
Thunder Should Trade for Evan Mobley
Some have speculated that the Oklahoma City Thunder could make a trade for Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, building an unbeatable package around Holmgren and their loaded arsenal of draft picks.
Instead, The Athletic’s Sam Amick revealed that Oklahoma City has long coveted Cleveland Cavaliers PF/C Evan Mobley, who won Defensive Player of the Year just last season.
“League sources have long maintained that Oklahoma City would not take part in the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes that will dominate the summertime conversation, but this sort of stunning finish is enough to re-spark that conversation,” Amick wrote.
“Nothing should be off the table when the end goal wasn’t reached. There has long been chatter about the Thunder having interest in Cleveland big man Evan Mobley as well, but Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman insisted in an end-of-season news conference that Mobley wasn’t going anywhere.”
Mobley could be the Wembanyama stopper the Thunder need if they hope to contend with the San Antonio Spurs next season.
While Antetokounmpo is surely the better player right now between Mobley and Holmgren, trading for the 31-year-old would be a desperate gamble from Sam Presti, something we don’t see from the long-time steward of the Thunder organization.
Mobley, on the other hand, wouldn’t cost as much, and still fits with Oklahoma City’s timeline of ascending young players.
Should the Thunder Trade Chet Holmgren?
Trade speculation is fun and all, but the real question is whether or not the Oklahoma City Thunder actually has any interest in trading Holmgren.
Yes, the Western Conference Finals were a disappointment for a team hoping to repeat as NBA champions, but it’s not like they were at full power.
Jalen Williams, an All-NBA caliber player and easily the second-best member of the Thunder behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, only appeared in two games throughout the entire series.
Ajay Mitchell, an ascending star who was making himself a household name throughout the 2026 playoffs, was also limited to only a handful of games in the Conference Finals.
It’s not like the injuries are an excuse for how bad Holmgren played, but maybe the expectations were too high for the four-year veteran, especially on offense.
Oklahoma City is unlikely to cut ties with Holmgren, but in the NBA, anything could happen.
Thunder Urged to Swap Chet Holmgren for Former DPOY Not Named Giannis Antetokounmpo