{"id":726578,"date":"2026-06-10T04:00:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T04:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/726578\/"},"modified":"2026-06-10T04:00:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T04:00:12","slug":"chet-holmgren-isnt-a-lock-to-return-and-josh-giddey-is-the-perfect-example-of-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/726578\/","title":{"rendered":"Chet Holmgren isn’t a lock to return, and Josh Giddey is the perfect example of why"},"content":{"rendered":"

After a rough series against San Antonio in the Western Conference Finals, many have begun to speculate that the OKC Thunder should consider moving on from Chet Holmgren<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In response to the widespread criticism of the big man, during his end-of-season press conference, GM Sam Presti made sure to highlight<\/a> that, despite his lackluster performance against the Spurs, he’s “one of our guys.”<\/p>\n

Though to some, this vote of confidence may suggest Chet should be seen as a lock to remain with the club moving forward, as Thunder fans witnessed just a few summers ago, words of praise don’t necessarily translate to long-term security.<\/p>\n

Just ask Josh Giddey.<\/p>\n

Thunder traded Josh Giddey despite public praise a few years back<\/p>\n

Let’s not forget that Presti also sang a similar tune when discussing point guard Josh Giddey during his annual end-of-season presser following Oklahoma City’s ill-fated 2024 playoff run-in with the Dallas Mavericks.<\/p>\n

In it, he noted that Giddey had “an up-and-down year,” but stressed that it’s up to the Thunder to “continue to figure out how to lean into the things he does to help amplify our team.”<\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea is to take the thing \u2014 he does a couple of things as a passer that are better than 95 to 99 percent of the people in the NBA \u2014 how do we incorporate that in a way that helps our team?\u201d<\/p>\n

-Sam Presti on Josh Giddey (2024)<\/p>\n

As we all now know, less than a month after making such highly complementary remarks, Presti ultimately decided to trade Giddey to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for veteran Alex Caruso, a player who proved crucial in OKC’s title run the very next season.<\/p>\n

Now, of course, this is not to suggest history is bound to repeat itself.<\/p>\n

After all, unlike Giddey at the time, Holmgren is an established All-Star, All-NBA, and All-Defensive talent who has already inked a lucrative, multi-year deal with the Thunder.<\/p>\n

He’s also coming off what was objectively the best campaign of his career in 2025-26, where he wrapped up with stellar averages of 17.1 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks on 55.7 percent shooting from the floor and 36.2 percent shooting from deep.<\/p>\n

However, Holmgren’s shortcomings on the biggest stage of the year were the most glaring reason the Thunder fell short of clinching their second straight NBA Finals berth.<\/p>\n

With this in mind, along with the fact that their opponent in the Spurs and their star player Victor Wembanyama are only bound to get better with time<\/a>, should OKC feel that moves still need to be made to secure more championships in the not-too-distant future, based on Presti’s past, there’s a chance that Chet’s future with the club isn’t as secure as the GM recently made it seem.<\/p>\n

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