Chet Holmgren Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Northwest Notes: Daigneault, Holmgren, Trail Blazers Sale

August 27th, 2025 at 10:49pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Champion Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault is building a team culture that will help Oklahoma City thrive long-term, Rylan Stiles of Thunder On SI opines.

Daigneault got his start as the head coach of the club’s G League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue, in 2014. He served as an assistant coach under Billy Donovan first in 2016, and again during Donovan’s final season with the Thunder, 2019/20. Daigneault was then elevated to the head coaching role the subsequent season.

After the team missed the postseason while strategically tanking from 2020-22, Daigneault helped the young Thunder post a 40-42 record in 2022/23 and make the play-in tournament. Oklahoma City has notched the best record in the Western Conference for each of the past two seasons. Daigneault was named the league’s Coach of the Year with the 57-25 Thunder in 2023/24, and won a title with the 68-14 club this past June.

Stiles observes that Daigneault’s Thunder players can often be heard parroting many of his strategic talking points and suggests that’s a positive indicator of their commitment to his approach.

There’s more out of the Northwest:

Rising Thunder big man Chet Holmgren agreed to a five-year, maximum rookie-scale extension this summer. The deal is projected to be worth around $240MM. Stiles observes that Oklahoma City has everything it needs to help Holmgren reach another level on offense. The 7’1″ center out of Gonzaga has struggled with significant health challenges during his nascent pro career, having missed all of what would have been his rookie season in 2022/23 with a foot ailment and sitting out 50 regular season bouts in 2024/25 due to a pelvic fracture. In the 32 regular season games he did play last year, Holmgren averaged 15.0 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 2.2 BPG, 2.0 APG and 0.7 SPG.
A group led by Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon has reportedly agreed to purchase controlling ownership of the Trail Blazers for $4.25 billion. Dundon and the Paul Allen estate are hoping to finalize an agreement in September, according to Matthew Kish and Bill Oram of The Oregonian, who take a closer look at the next steps in the process and what to expect from the new owners. It is anticipated that Dundon will be the biggest shareholder involved, but he’ll also be joined by Blue Owl Capital co-president Marc Zahr and Collective Global Management CEO Sheel Tyle. Tyle is based in Portland.
In case you missed it, the Timberwolves are reportedly considering a potential reunion with free agent sharpshooter Malik Beasley.

Contract Details: Anthony, JJJ, Holmgren, J. Williams, Gafford

July 15th, 2025 at 10:55am CST by Luke Adams

Cole Anthony, whose previous cap hit had been $13.1MM, gave up exactly $2MM as part of his buyout agreement with the Grizzlies, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac. Memphis subsequently used the stretch provision to spread the $11.1MM still owed to Anthony across three seasons, resulting in annual cap hits of $3.7MM through 2027/28.

The move reduced Anthony’s 2025/26 cap charge by $9.4MM, generating the cap room necessary to renegotiate Jaren Jackson Jr.‘s ’25/26 salary from roughly $23.4MM up to $35MM, as Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron tweets. That allowed the Grizzlies to give Jackson a $49MM salary (ie. a 40% raise) in the first year of his new extension, which increases to $50.5MM in 2027/28 and $52MM in ’28/29, with a $53.5MM player option for ’29/30.

Jackson is now owed exactly $240MM over the next five seasons, having received approximately $216.6MM in new money in his agreement with Memphis.

Here are a few more details on contracts from around the NBA:

Chet Holmgren‘s new five-year, maximum-salary rookie scale extension with the Thunder doesn’t include Rose Rule language, but Jalen Williams‘ five-year max extension does, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks at Sports Business Classroom. According to Marks, Williams’ deal will start at 30% of the 2026/27 salary cap if he wins MVP, is named Defensive Player of the Year, or makes the All-NBA first team next season. If he makes the All-NBA second team, it would start at 27% of the cap, while a spot on the All-NBA third team would result in a starting salary at 26%. No All-NBA berth, MVP, or DPOY for Williams would result in a salary worth 25% of next year’s cap, matching Holmgren’s deal.
As expected, the terms of Daniel Gafford‘s new three-year veteran extension with the Mavericks are the maximum the team could have given the big man while maintaining his trade eligibility, tweets Marc Stein. Gafford got a 20% raise for 2026/27 to $17,263,584, with 5% annual raises for the next two seasons. The new three-year contract is worth a total of $54.38MM, on top of the $14.39MM he’ll make in 2025/26.
Rockets forward Jeff Green, Spurs guard Jordan McLaughlin, and Bucks wing Gary Trent Jr. have joined the list of players who waived their right to veto a trade in 2025/26 when they re-signed with their respective teams, Hoops Rumors has learned. A player who signs a new one-year deal (or two-year deal with a second-year option) with his previous team typically gets trade veto rights for that season, but those can be forfeited as part of the contract agreement.

Thunder Sign Chet Holmgren To Five-Year Max Extension

July 13th, 2025 at 8:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

July 13: The Holmgren extension has been made official, per a press release from the Thunder.

July 9: Thunder big man Chet Holmgren has agreed to a fully-guaranteed, five-year maximum rookie contract extension, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports (Twitter link).

Holmgren’s first-year salary under the extension will start at 25% of the 2026/27 salary cap, ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets. Based on the NBA’s latest cap projection, that would work out to a five-year, $240MM deal.

The second pick of the 2022 draft, Holmgren has battled through injuries in his first three years as a pro but has excelled during his time on the court.

After not playing at all during the 2022/23 season due to a foot injury suffered during the offseason, Holmgren bounced back to start every game in the 2023/24 season, averaging 16.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.3 blocks per night.

A pelvic fracture limited Holmgren to 32 regular season games this past season. He posted averages of 15.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.2 blocks prior to the playoffs, then started all 23 postseason contests en route to the franchise’s first championship since moving to Oklahoma City. He averaged 15.2 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.9 blocks during the title run.

Holmgren joins league Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander among current OKC players to receive max extensions. The next order of business is to give star forward Jalen Williams a max contract of his own. He’s also eligible for a rookie scale extension this offseason.

While we’ll wait for the official details to confirm, it doesn’t sound as if Holmgren’s deal will include Rose Rule language that could increase the value of that first year beyond 25% of the cap if he makes an All-NBA team, wins Defensive Player of the Year, or is named MVP.

Charania’s report does say the value of the extension could reach $250MM, which would exceed the projected value of a standard 25% max deal even if the cap rises by the maximum allowable 10% next year (it’d be worth $246.6MM in that scenario). However, that may just be a case of generously rounding up.

Northwest Notes: Boozer, Bradley, OKC, Timberwolves

June 25th, 2025 at 10:40am CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Jazz‘s reconfigured front office is leaning on former Utah forward Carlos Boozer and former longtime NBA guard Avery Bradley to help prep for Wednesday and Thursday’s NBA draft, observes Tony Jones of The Athletic.

“This place has really transformed,” Boozer told Jones. “But, I want to do my part to build this team back up to being a contender, because that’s where this franchise belongs. I love this fan base and this town. It reminds me of my hometown in Alaska. So, this has been a huge honor, and it’s brought back so many memories.”

As Jones notes, both Boozer and Bradley know something about being under-the-radar draft gems.

“I think having the perspective of being a player is helpful,” Bradley said. “Seeing players that could model and resemble some of the players that we’ve played with and have been in locker rooms with helps. What Carlos and I have wanted to do is help Austin (Ainge) and Justin (Zanik) and Danny (Ainge) in the process.”

There’s more out of the Northwest Division:

After claiming their first title together on Sunday, the Thunder’s new big three of MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, All-NBA wing Jalen Williams, and big man Chet Holmgren could form the core of a new dynasty, posits Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. “These guys represent all that’s good at a young age,” longtime Oklahoma City president Sam Presti said. “They prioritize winning, they prioritize sacrifice, and it just kind of unfolded very quickly…. Age is a number. Sacrifice and maturity is a characteristic, and these guys have it in spades.”
With the Timberwolves’ sale officially approved by the league, now-former majority owners Glen and Becky Taylor have penned a thank-you message to Minnesota fans, via a Timberwolves press release. Taylor leaves the Timberwolves in a good place, with the club anchored by All-NBA superstar guard Anthony Edwards and fresh off two straight Western Conference Finals appearances. “Though we are stepping away as owners, our love for this organization and this community remains as strong as ever,” the Taylors write. “We will always be fans, cheering from our seats, celebrating your triumphs, and believing in what comes next.”
Incoming new Timberwolves owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez spoke to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic about their vision for the franchise moving forward. “Let’s make it very clear,” Rodriguez said. “Marc and I are not making basketball decisions… What we’ve learned is some of the best governors throughout sports, they spend most of their time in the front end hiring the right people. … We give them guidelines, we give them budgets, and then Tim (Connelly) can cook. And then we stay out of his way. That’s also really important.”

Thunder Notes: Dynasty Talk, Caruso, Holmgren, Dort

June 23rd, 2025 at 10:00am CST by Arthur Hill

As Oklahoma City celebrated its first-ever NBA title Sunday night, speculation began about how many more this version of the Thunder might be able to get, writes Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. The Game 7 win over Indiana made OKC the second-youngest champion in NBA history, and Reynolds points out that the organization is set up very well for the future.

The Thunder are built around Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who completed the rare feat of winning MVP, Finals MVP and a scoring title in the same season. SGA and just about other every important player on the roster are under contract for next season, and rookie scale extensions are looming for Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams. Oklahoma City has a treasure trove of draft assets, including the No. 15 and 24 picks this year, along with Nikola Topic, a 2024 lottery pick who sat out the entire season due to injury.

“We definitely still have room to grow,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “That’s the fun part of this. So many of us can still get better. There’s not very many of us on the team that are in our prime or even close to it. We have a lot to grow, individually and as a group. I’m excited for the future of this team. This is a great start, for sure.”

In addition, the Thunder have a calm, steady leader in Mark Daigneault, who now has an NBA title and a Coach of the Year award five years into his head coaching career. Reynolds notes that general manager Sam Presti and owner Clay Bennett rarely speak to the media, so Daigneault serves as the voice of the franchise.

“There’s no guarantee you end it the way that we did,” Daigneault said. “I just wanted it so bad for them. I was just so thrilled that we were able to get that done and they get to experience this because they deserve it. The way they approach it, the professionalism, competitiveness, team-first nature, like I said, I wanted it so bad for them.”

There’s more from Oklahoma City:

An offseason trade for Alex Caruso added to the Thunder’s collection of elite defenders, notes Kelly Iko of The Athletic. Caruso’s versatility and his willingness to do things that aren’t glamorous made him an indispensable part of the championship run. “I think just through my career, I figured out that I can do stuff that’s not necessarily sexy or not necessarily the mainstream offensive or even defensive skill set that people recognize,” Caruso said. “I just leaned into it. I practiced being great at the stuff that nobody else does, carving a role for myself in the league. I think through the years, I’ve just kind of perfected that stuff.”
Holmgren set a record Sunday night by blocking five shots, the most ever in an NBA Finals Game 7 since blocks began being recorded in 1973/74, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN. It was a satisfying conclusion for Holmgren, who missed more than half of the regular season due to a hip injury. “Honestly, I never really play for records,” he said. “I never play for stats. All that will be forgotten. But us winning is forever. It’s immortal. I’m just so happy we were able to do that together as a team.”
Luguentz Dort would normally be a strong extension candidate, but it won’t be an easy decision for the Thunder, who already have extension decisions to make on Gilgeous-Alexander, Holmgren and Williams, Bobby Marks of ESPN writes in his offseason guide. Marks also expects OKC to aggressively look for trades involving its two first-round picks and one second-rounder in Wednesday’s draft.

Thunder Win First Championship Since Move; SGA Named Finals MVP

June 22nd, 2025 at 10:07pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Thunder claimed their first NBA championship since the franchise moved to Oklahoma City, as they defeated the depleted Pacers, 103-91, in Game 7 on Sunday.

Seattle, which won the championship in 1979, relocated to Oklahoma City in 2008. The Pacers, who have never won an NBA title, played the last three quarters without Tyrese Haliburton, who suffered an Achilles injury in the first quarter.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, this season’s Most Valuable Player, also earned Finals MVP honors, the league announced (via Twitter). It’s the 16th time a player has won both in the same year, though it hasn’t happened since LeBron James pulled it off during the 2012/13 season.

The Thunder should be major contenders for years to come with their young core, featuring Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren. The top priorities for the Thunder this offseason center around extensions.

Gilgeous-Alexander has met the performance criteria for a super-max contract and will become eligible to sign that extension next month. The 2024 MVP runner-up still has two years left on his current deal and can’t exceed six years in total, so the maximum value of his extension would be a projected $293.4MM over four years, beginning in 2027/28.

Williams and Holmgren are eligible for rookie scale extensions until the beginning of next seasons and both could receive the max – five years and a projected $246MM. The maximum value of those extensions could increase to a projected $296MM if All-NBA, MVP or Defensive Player of the Year honors are negotiated into the contracts.

The Pacers’ offseason outlook could change dramatically due to Haliburton’s injury. Myles Turner, their starting center, is headed to unrestricted free agency and while the Pacers reportedly want to re-sign him, they could have plenty of competition. Bennedict Mathurin is eligible for a rookie scale extension.

Several other key players, including Haliburton and Pascal Siakam, are signed through at least the 2027/28 season. Could they look to shed salary in light of Haliburton’s injury?

With the NBA Finals decided, the 2025 NBA offseason is officially underway. For the second straight year, teams will be permitted to negotiate contracts with their own free agents one day after the Finals. Players who won’t be free agents this offseason but who will become eligible to sign contract extensions on July 6 will also be permitted to begin negotiations with their current teams on Monday.

Thus, it wouldn’t be surprising if some agreements are reported this week. Free agent contracts still can’t be officially finalized until after the July moratorium lifts on July 6.

The draft will be held on Wednesday and Thursday, with free agency beginning on June 30 at 6 p.m. Eastern time.

Thunder Notes: SGA, Caruso, Williams, Holmgren, Game 2 Adjustments

June 9th, 2025 at 8:01am CST by Arthur Hill

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander set a record for the most combined points by a player in his first two NBA Finals games as the Thunder defeated Indiana to even their series at 1-1, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPN. After taking 30 shots to reach 38 points in Game 1, Gilgeous-Alexander was more efficient on Sunday, going 11-of-21 from the field and 11-of-12 from the foul line en route to a 34-point performance.

MacMahon notes that SGA also established a franchise record with his 12th 30-point game of this year’s playoffs, topping the mark set by Kevin Durant in 2014.

“I’m being myself,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I don’t think I tried to reinvent the wheel or step up to the plate with a different mindset. Just try to attack the game the right way. I think I’ve done a pretty good job of that so far.”

The reigning MVP and the league’s best regular season team both looked more in character in Game 2 than they did while letting a 15-point fourth quarter lead slip away in the opener. Gilgeous-Alexander resumed his normal role as a facilitator as well as a scorer, handing out eight assists after having just three in Game 1. His assists went to seven different teammates, and six of them resulted in made three-pointers.

“He’s just getting better and better, which is very impressive,” Jalen Williams said. “Obviously, he’s the MVP of the league. For him to continue to get better is good. He just trusts us to make plays. I think when your best player is out there and he trusts you to make a play, it just gives you more confidence. He understands that. I think that’s one of the roles he’s gotten really good at and grown at, and it just makes our team better.”

There’s more on the Thunder:

Defensive sparkplug Alex Caruso delivered 20 points off the bench to help keep the game out of reach, per Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic. It was a scoring mark he didn’t achieve in any game during the regular season, and it was more than any Pacers player was able to muster. “He’s one of those guys who you know is going to bring it every single night,” Chet Holmgren said. “Whether he’s 22 or 30, doesn’t matter. He’s going to bring it. I feel like, as a collective, we really feed off of that. Then also his ability to kind of process things that are happening out there and relay it and communicate it to everybody else is really important for us.”
After subpar showings in the series opener, Williams and Holmgren delivered more typical outings in Game 2, notes Will Guillory of The Athletic. Williams contributed 19 points, five rebounds and five assists, while Holmgren added 15 points and six rebounds. Aaron Wiggins chipped in 18 points off the bench as the Thunder reserves outscored the Pacers’ reserves, 48-34.
Coach Mark Daigneault stuck with his smaller starting lineup from Game 1 — with Cason Wallace replacing Isaiah Hartenstein — but he made a few adjustments on Sunday, observes Tim Bontemps of ESPN. Holmgren and Hartenstein saw time together, allowing Oklahoma City to be more competitive on the boards, and rookie guard Ajay Mitchell was barely used.

Thunder Notes: Offseason, Mitchell, Caruso, Daigneault

June 8th, 2025 at 5:01pm CST by Eli Cohen

While the Thunder look to avoid dropping a second straight game to the Pacers in Sunday’s Game 2 Finals matchup, teams around the league are eyeing Oklahoma City’s roster construction with interest, writes Jake Fischer for The Stein Line (Substack link).

That’s not just because of the success general manager Sam Presti has had building a small-market powerhouse, but also because the team currently has the maximum 15 players under contract for next season while holding three top-45 picks in the 2025 draft, two of which are first-rounders (Nos. 15 and 24).

Fischer writes that the team has a unique level of flexibility that could allow it to make any number of roster moves. That could include declining rookie guard Ajay Mitchell‘s team option and bringing him back on a two-way contract, which would require some level of trust from Mitchell. It could also mean packaging picks to move up into the lottery, and Fischer reports that some teams in that range of the draft are expecting that possibility to present itself. The Thunder could also trade out of the draft, rather than up, to continue accumulating future draft assets and delay making a decision.

The Thunder are already set to add last year’s lottery pick Nikola Topic to the rotation after he missed the entirety of the 2024/25 season, so in addition to roster spots, there’s also a question of how many minutes will be available for first-year players next year.

We have more Thunder news:

Speaking of Mitchell, the former second-round pick’s inclusion in the Game 1 rotation for the Thunder was somewhat unexpected, considering he had only played 64 playoff minutes heading into the Finals. However, that was what made it such a Thunder move, writes Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. The team prides itself on its next-man-up approach, and on Thursday night, that meant Mitchell seeing the first Finals action of his nascent career. “I don’t think there’s more nervousness, I think maybe more excitement just because it’s the Finals. But at the end of the day, it’s basketball. Once you step on the court, there’s nothing really else that matters. When I step on the floor, it’s just basketball,” Mitchell said.
Alex Caruso‘s journey to the NBA Finals began with a 2016 audition for an Exhibit 10 contract, a workout that quickly showed who he would become as a basketball player and teammate, writes ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. “By midway through the workout, he’s coaching the workout. He’s doing what he does,” coach Mark Daigneault said. But even the oft-lauded Presti didn’t quite know what he had in the versatile defender, and Caruso eventually left for the Lakers without ever having been called up from the Thunder’s G League affiliate. It’s fitting that now, as a 31-year-old veteran with championship pedigree, he has returned to where it all began to help his former coach and organization, both on the court and as a mentor to the cadre of young, defensive-minded guards on the roster.
Daigneault has taken a lion’s share of the blame for Oklahoma City’s Game 1 collapse against the Pacers, who once again came back miraculously to steal Game 1 on the road. While it’s natural to look for a target for blame after such a dramatic letdown, SI’s Rylan Stiles writes that putting it all on the head coach isn’t the right way to look at it. While changing the starting lineup that had gotten the team to the Finals before Game 1 was a controversial decision, the starting unit wasn’t why they lost the game, Stiles writes, and neither was playing Mitchell. While Daigneault could have, and probably should have, brought Shai Gilgeous-Alexander back into the game sooner in the fourth quarter or experimented with double-big lineups, the team’s second and third options, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, ultimately weren’t good enough. If either had played even slightly better, Stiles writes, the Thunder would be up 1-0 and none of these questions would be popping up at all.
There are specific things the Thunder can do to ensure the end of Game 2 doesn’t play out as it did in Game 1, writes ESPN’s Zack Kram. The first thing is to put Game 1 out of their heads completely — something the Knicks seemed to struggle to do after losing Game 1 against the Pacers in similarly deflating fashion. As Stiles wrote, Williams and Holmgren need to step up, as they did against the Timberwolves, especially as the team sacrifices size and rebounding to keep up with the Pacers’ frenetic pace. They also need to move the ball quicker and not devolve into stagnant offensive possessions around Gilgeous-Alexander isolations. Indiana is counting on the MVP scoring, but Oklahoma City can hurt the Pacers by getting the supporting cast involved.

Thunder Notes: Jalen Williams, Holmgren, SGA, Presti

June 7th, 2025 at 8:51pm CST by Arthur Hill

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander carried the scoring load as expected for the Thunder in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, but Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren both suffered through off nights, combining for 23 points while shooting 8-of-28 from the field, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. Williams saw his normal workload, but Holmgren was limited to 23 minutes as OKC coach Mark Daigneault went away from his two-big lineups.

At Saturday’s practice, Daigneault noted that Williams and Holmgren, who were both drafted in 2022, are young players who are being asked to produce on the league’s biggest stage.

“They have carved out huge roles on our team — they are a huge reason why we’re here,” he said. “They are in an uncommon position for third-year players. These are guys that are in their third year. Usually, delivering in the Finals is not on the curriculum for third-year players, you know, and they have thrust themselves into that situation, which is a credit to them.

“And now that they are here, they have to continue to do what they have done all the way through the playoffs, which is go out there, fully compete, learn the lessons, and apply it forward. And they have done a great job of that. I think you’ve seen that over the course of the playoffs. They haven’t always played their best game, but they always get themselves ready to play the next one.”

There’s more from Oklahoma City:

In an interview with Marc J. Spears of Andscape, Williams talks about his quick rise from a mid-major college team to NBA stardom. Williams reveals that he didn’t receive any Power 5 scholarship offers, so he opted for Santa Clara, where he gradually developed into an NBA prospect. “As I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned to appreciate everything that happened and I look back and believe that if it didn’t happen that way, I don’t think I would be in the position I was,” Williams said. “So, in a way, honestly, it just makes me feel kind of relieved and happy that was the way it went. I remember a lot of times I would work out because something went wrong or I didn’t get picked for something I thought I should get picked for. It made me go to the gym. It made me take it way more seriously.”
With an MVP award already in his possession, Gilgeous-Alexander has a chance to join an elite list of players by winning an NBA championship, observes Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman. Lorenzi points out that Shaquille O’Neal, Michael Jordan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar are the only players to capture a scoring title, MVP honors and Finals MVP in the same season.
John Hollinger of The Athletic examines how general manager Sam Presti was able to build a second great team in Oklahoma City after his first one fell apart without winning a title.

Thunder Notes: Edwards, Dort, Caruso, Lineup, Depth

May 26th, 2025 at 6:57pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Slowing down Anthony Edwards would go a long way toward the Thunder gaining a commanding 3-1 lead in the Western Conference Finals on Monday. NBA.com’s Shaun Powell breaks down four potential strategies to achieve that goal against the Timberwolves’ superstar guard.

That includes playing Luguentz Dort straight up against Edwards; providing backup to Dort with another defensive ace, Alex Caruso; forcing Edwards to give up the ball as much as possible; and sealing off the paint to prevent dribble drives. But there’s only so much anyone can do, Caruso admits.

“These All-NBA, All-Star players, not one person is going to shut them down for the game,” he said. “We have to make sure we’re early, in the spots we’re supposed to be, and stay anticipatory. That’s because he’s strong and athletic and can get there before we’re ready. When he does that, it’s in his favor.”

Here’s more on the Thunder:

Should they make a lineup adjustment? Sports Illustrated’s Rylan Stiles believes so. He thinks they should downsize by moving defensive stalwart and play-finishing guard Cason Wallace into the lineup with Isaiah Hartenstein coming off the bench. Stiles notes that with Wallace sharing the floor with Chet Holmgren as the lone center this postseason, the Thunder have played 238 possessions resulting in a +30.2 net rating.
Dort went undrafted out of Arizona State in 2019 and ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reports that one former GM told her the swingman had a poor individual workout in front of several teams that led to questions about his shooting and ball-handling. Still another executive speculated that teams couldn’t decide if he projected as a three-and-D player or a scoring guard. Dort signed a two-way contract with Oklahoma City after that draft and is now a fixture for the Western Conference’s top seed.
During his pregame press conference, coach Mark Daigneault said that he’ll continue to go deep into his bench if it’s warranted, Clemente Almanza of The Thunder Wire tweets. “I’m a big believer in when the game’s not going the way you want it to go, being aggressive and being assertive, not just waiting back, especially with a team like this, you never know when you can find something in those situations,” Daigneault said.