Thunder young star Chet Holmgren's future in limbo because of Spurs' Victor Wembanyama's success

Thunder young star Chet Holmgren’s future in limbo because of Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama’s success originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The Oklahoma City Thunder did not make the NBA Finals for the second consecutive season. Instead, the San Antonio Spurs knocked off the defending champions in a thrilling series that went all the way to seven games.

The Thunder were stunned that they were unable to make another deep playoff run. However, their center, Chet Holmgren, struggled to make an impact in Game 7.

“To even say Holmgren was passive on Saturday night would be giving him too much credit. He was basically invisible. Of the four shots he took, zero came in the second half. Zero! That is inexcusable for a guy who will start a five-year, $239 million contract next season. A guy who was voted Third Team All-NBA this season,” CBS Sports’ Brad Botkin wrote.

At the end of the season, Holmgren met with the media to discuss the Spurs series and acknowledged that he underperformed. He did not hold back when discussing his performance.

“I have to dive into the tape to understand the specifics of it, but a part of it, I was getting closed out heavily and just being out of rhythm at times. I feel like there were definitely opportunities to get more attempts up that I didn’t in the moment. That’s an area to improve,” Holmgren said.

Oklahoma City has some major financial decisions to make over the next year or so. The Athletic’s Zach Harper believes that if Holmgren does not improve in his matchups against Victor Wembanyama, the Thunder could eventually consider moving on from him.

“The second apron is rearing its ugly head with OKC in real time and will continue to do so as long as the Thunder keep that big three together. They might have to make a big-time decision soon. If Holmgren continues to struggle against Victor Wembanyama when it matters most, then maybe that decision becomes easier,” Harper wrote.

That puts some pressure on Holmgren heading into this season, as he needs to perform when the playoffs arrive. He is already on a max contract, and the Thunder could face difficult decisions as their financial commitments continue to grow.

Holmgren is certainly one of the fan favorites in Oklahoma City, but he is also one of the highest-paid players on an organization that could soon face significant financial pressure because of the second apron. His rivalry with Wembanyama could ultimately become a major factor in determining his future with the Thunder.

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