What happened to Chet Holmgren?

[Patches Perry]

OP, I think you're a solid poster outside of your OKC takes, but your sourness for OKC is hilarious lol. It's weirdly petty and I can think of several regular season games where you had similar level takes. One I remember off the top of my head is saying OKC is a "cute team" but "years away from contention" after Denver beat them in a RS game this season. I take solace in the fact that your takes on OKC haven't aged well.

How hasn’t that aged well? The Thunder are in the second round of the playoffs, against Luka one leg and just lost home court advantage. I see them winning it all without some time and potentially roster adjustments.

Thought OKC fans would take a different approach after what happened with their last more talented team.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM mobile app

They are 1st seed with the 2nd best record in the league and 3 games from the conference finals with the series tied 1-1. What is your definition of contention? Denver is down 0-2 in the second round. If they lose, were they not a contender? A lot of this seems like moving the goalposts.

[sikma42]

OP, I think you're a solid poster outside of your OKC takes, but your sourness for OKC is hilarious lol. It's weirdly petty and I can think of several regular season games where you had similar level takes. One I remember off the top of my head is saying OKC is a "cute team" but "years away from contention" after Denver beat them in a RS game this season. I take solace in the fact that your takes on OKC haven't aged well.

How hasn’t that aged well? The Thunder are in the second round of the playoffs, against Luka one leg and just lost home court advantage. I see them winning it all without some time and potentially roster adjustments.

Thought OKC fans would take a different approach after what happened with their last more talented team.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM mobile app

They are 1st seed with the 2nd best record in the league and 3 games from the conference finals with the series tied 1-1. What is your definition of contention? Denver is down 0-2 in the second round. If they lose, were they not a contender? A lot of this seems like moving the goalposts.

A team with a serious chance of winning the title. Right now, I think it’s Minny/Denver/Boston.

I don’t think OKC has a chance of beating Minnesota or Denver. Also think they would have lost LA. Since there are so many matchups I’d pick them to lose I don’t consider a true contender

Sent from my iPhone using RealGM mobile app

[WillyJakkz]

"What a pro wants what a pro needs"

[Patches Perry]

How hasn’t that aged well? The Thunder are in the second round of the playoffs, against Luka one leg and just lost home court advantage. I see them winning it all without some time and potentially roster adjustments.

Thought OKC fans would take a different approach after what happened with their last more talented team.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM mobile app

They are 1st seed with the 2nd best record in the league and 3 games from the conference finals with the series tied 1-1. What is your definition of contention? Denver is down 0-2 in the second round. If they lose, were they not a contender? A lot of this seems like moving the goalposts.

A team with a serious chance of winning the title. Right now, I think it’s Minny/Denver/Boston.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM mobile app

Is there any objective metric for "serious chance to win the title" or is it something you just decide subjectively on a whim? Maybe more specifically, how far would OKC have to get in these playoffs for you to believe they're a contender? If they beat Dallas, does that make them a contender?

To be clear, you don't have to win the championship to be a contender. There is only 1 champion each year, and more than 1 contender, which means all but 1 contender will lose. If Denver and Minnesota are contenders, OKC is also.

[UcanUwill]

They need a big and have him play PF. He really isn’t a center.

If it ends up that way, then Chet’s value drops tremendously.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM mobile app

Utilizing him properly? You would rather have so one next to him, PF or C that can take the banging and have him as the roamer help defense shot blocker. That is also ideal for Wemby too. Wemby is better, he just has more of it but Chet is t Shaun Bradley.

Not sure I agree with you on both, but certainly not Wembanyama. He started the season next to a center and was clearly miscast completely. The closer to the rim that man is, the more unstopable he is. Chet I can see him working as a forward, he is the definitely not ideal to bang with some guys yet, but I still see him as ultimately a center. Putting a center who can shoot, was big reason why OKC took a jump, he unlocked that team, he is their Chris Bosh.

[naabzor]

I am really shocked that this guy can play at that level. He is the skinniest dude on earth probably. He has talent anyway but I am not seeing OKC offense really feature him that much. He was much more involved in game 1 but in game 2 he barely had the ball.

[Dominator83]

This dude was supposed to be the next big thing. Earlier in the season there was legit debate if he might be better than Wemby. Of course that ended when Wemby took off mid season, but still Chet was viewed as a guy who would challenge Wemby for the next great big.

He has looked pretty mid for the past 2 months. Did he hit a rookie wall or something?

It might be a strength issue. Those legs probably couldn't hold up for a full season + the playoffs. Hopefully the young guy gets stronger.

Am I the only one who noticed the dropoff with Chet's play?

He's been mid for longer than that. I had him in fantasy and he was maddening to own

[SFour]

Chet never gave off generational talent vibes....while Wemby was looking like a generational talent even before the draft.

[Clav]

Shooting comes and goes but his defense is generally quite solid. JustBuzzin is openly not a Thunder supporter so surely he didn't follow the season closely and is making generalizations. That being said Holmgren looks good when he has defensive pressure and gets some highlight energy plays, collects easy lobs, and connects on 2-3 3pters a game, and is in a more natural flow offensively. He looks a lot worse when teams force heavier pressure, push him off his block, or foul trouble affects him. Overall he is a productive player but has hit some bumps in games occasionally, as is expected for a rookie (and, hey, take up your complaints about rookie designation with the NBA).

[Dominator83]

They need a big and have him play PF. He really isn’t a center.

They could have had Lively or Gafford, they were involved in a trade with Dallas on both but got neither. Thank god because then they'd probably be unstoppable.

That was the real head scratcher. OKC hooked Dallas up with Gafford... Instead of just taking Gafford for themselves

[durden_tyler]

Depends on what you expect him to be. Superstar? Top 10 player? That's too much. He's going to be a solid starter, and that's okay.

[BDM22]

Young players have ups and downs

[1993Playoffs]

He’s just a good player. He’s no wemby

[MassimoPayne]

Still surprised OKC or PHX did not go for Gafford.
Luckily we have him

[FeatheryTouch]

His potential is a level or two below Wemby, but he's going to be pretty awesome if he can stay healthy.

And he's still a baby.

Haters gonna hate.

[MrGoat]

They need a big and have him play PF. He really isn’t a center.

They could have had Lively or Gafford, they were involved in a trade with Dallas on both but got neither. Thank god because then they'd probably be unstoppable.

That was the real head scratcher. OKC hooked Dallas up with Gafford... Instead of just taking Gafford for themselves

The Gafford one is the real head scratcher. At the time of the draft Dallas was one of the only teams that would have been willing to take Lively that high, a lot of draft people thought Lively was a reach for Dallas after that trade, OKC wanted Cason.

OKC facilitated the Gafford trade for Dallas, though. OKC gave Washington a first round pick in exchange for a pick swap from Dallas and Washington sent Gafford to Dallas for the pick. OKC certainly could have just taken Gafford for themselves with that pick. If Dallas isn't bad in 2028 they basically gave them Daniel Gafford for nothing

[ORLMagicGirl15]

What happened to a rookie? Are we serious?

[Kiss of Death]

He was pretty overrated early on.
He is a role player/solid starter.
He is not a first option.
If he was the best player on your team, you'd be right there with the Pistons and Wizards.

[brutalitops]

They need a big and have him play PF. He really isn’t a center.

This is a gross take honestly. One of the major reasons OKC have been good is that Chet is able to space the floor and provide elite rim protection. He is lighter then a wet paper towel right now but he's a rookie, and OKC' all 25 and under. To move Chet to PF would be a horrid mistake

[hauntedcomputer]

I'll take any guy that plays all 82 games in this soft league.