Draymond Green on Holmgren: “Trading him would be insane”
Draymond Green made it crystal clear: moving Chet Holmgren would be ridiculous and premature. For Oklahoma City, the only way to answer Victor Wembanyama is by developing their young big man – not by making a reckless trade
The NBA Playoffs are unforgiving, and one bad series is often enough to put a player under the microscope. That’s exactly what’s happening to Chet Holmgren, who has faced heavy criticism following the Oklahoma City Thunder’s decisive loss to the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals.
The Thunder center finished the series with numbers well below his regular-season standards – 10.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game compared to 17.1 points and 1.9 blocks during the regular season – sparking speculation about a potential trade.
Draymond Green quickly pushed back against those narratives. On the latest episode of The Draymond Green Show, the Golden State Warriors veteran expressed his frustration with how quickly the NBA world turns on young talent (look at Perkins’ opinions) after a rough stretch:
It’s crazy how people change their minds just because Chet had a bad series. I didn’t like how it went either – he didn’t give enough. You’ve got to go down fighting until the very end, and it didn’t look like he did that. So I understand the criticism. But treating him like a scrub and saying he should be traded is ridiculous and premature. It’s exactly why so many franchises ruin themselves, fail to grow, and never reach ultimate success: they panic and do what everyone else tells them to do
Draymond Green
Green also reminded listeners of Holmgren’s overall body of work this season, which included an All-Star selection, a spot on the All-NBA Third Team, First Team All-Defense, and a runner-up finish in the Defensive Player of the Year race:
He had a bad playoff series and now everyone says, ‘It’s time to trade him.’ If you trade a player every time he goes through a tough stretch, how do you expect to build anything? General managers are going to call Sam Presti and say, ‘Hey, we’ll take Chet,’ and he’ll hang up the phone on them. Why don’t we just say he needs to get in the gym this summer, find the right motivation, and get better?
Draymond Green
The trade rumors surrounding Holmgren aren’t driven solely by his on-court performance. Financial considerations also play a role. With a projected $239 million contract extension set to kick in next year, Oklahoma City will face difficult decisions to avoid crossing into the second apron of the luxury tax. Even so, the Thunder front office has already made it clear that it has no intention of entertaining offers for its young center.
This series exposed his weaknesses and showed him exactly what he needs to work on. He struggled against what’s probably the best player in the NBA right now (Wembanyama, en) and because of that we should trade him? Stop it. Chet, get back in the gym, put in the work, and never go down without a fight again
Draymond Green
Green’s comments highlight the chronic impatience that often surrounds the league’s next generation of big men, a pattern recently seen with other young stars such as Evan Mobley and Alperen Sengun.
Holmgren remains one of the very few players in the NBA with the physical tools and skill set to consistently compete with Victor Wembanyama. For that reason, investing in his development – not shopping him on the trade market – appears to be the only logical path forward for OKC.