Thunder Rumors: Holmgren, Caruso, Hartenstein, Dort, More

Although league insiders don’t expect Thunder head of basketball operations Sam Presti to make any “panic moves” following his team’s elimination in a tight Western Conference finals, rival executives have wondered for months whether the team will have to part with certain rotation players beginning this offseason as the roster gets more crowded and more expensive, per Anthony Slater and Tim MacMahon of ESPN.

“There can’t be room for everybody,” one Eastern Conference executive said to ESPN.

Much of the speculation in the wake of Saturday’s Game 7 loss has centered on Chet Holmgren, who shrank against Defensive Player of the Year Victor Wembanyama, attempting just two shots from the floor in that do-or-die contest. However, Holmgren continues to be backed within the organization as a “franchise pillar,” write Slater and MacMahon.

Veteran guard Alex Caruso is also viewed as a “firm member” of the long-term core in Oklahoma City after a strong showing in the Western finals, according to Slater and MacMahon, who say that there’s also anticipation among league and team sources that big man Isaiah Hartenstein will return to the team for the 2026/27 season too. That could mean OKC picks up its $28.5MM team option on Hartenstein or turns that option down in order to negotiate a new contract.

Luguentz Dort‘s future with the Thunder is less clear. While his $18.2MM team option isn’t exorbitant, the club has no shortage of reliable wing defenders, including Caruso and Cason Wallace, which could make Dort the odd man out in OKC, observes Kurt Helin of NBC Sports.

While Slater and MacMahon acknowledge that Wallace looks ready to take Dort’s place in the starting five, sources familiar with the thinking of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander tell ESPN that the two-time MVP highly values playing alongside Dort, a fellow Canadian, and is expected to let management know that.

Here’s more on the Thunder:

• If Oklahoma City looks to move players on guaranteed contracts to create more financial flexibility, Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins are potential trade candidates to watch, Slater and MacMahon say. The two wings, who will earn a combined $20MM+ in 2026/27, played regular rotation roles during the season but weren’t used much in the playoffs.
• Rival executives expect Oklahoma City to decline its $7.2MM team option on Kenrich Williams, though there’s a chance the veteran forward, a longtime member of the Thunder, could return to the team on a lower cap hit, Slater and MacMahon report.
• League sources tell ESPN that the Thunder have already had exploratory conversations with teams drafting in the top 10 about what the price would be to move up. While Oklahoma City is armed with the 12th, 17th, and 37th picks this year and has a surplus of future draft assets, the team’s decision on whether to pay the price to move up will likely be made on draft day and will depend on whether a specific target is available.
• While the Thunder front office will have some important roster decisions to make this summer, the 2027 offseason is viewed as the real start of a “financial reckoning” for the organization, according to Slater and MacMahon. That’s when Gilgeous-Alexander’s super-max extension will begin, increasing his salary from roughly 25% of the cap to 35%.