Thunder GM Talks Holmgren, Team Options, Draft, More
While Thunder big man Chet Holmgren drew plenty of criticism for his lackluster performance in the Western Conference finals, particularly the Game 7 loss in which he finished with just four points (on 1-of-2 shooting) and four rebounds in 33 minutes, general manager Sam Presti publicly backed the former No. 2 overall pick on Monday, writes Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman.
According to Presti, Holmgren’s “underdog” mentality will serve him well going forward.
“Chet’s one of our guys,” Presti said. “He’s been so impactful. He drives winning on so many different levels for us. We were sweeping our way to the Western Conference Finals primarily because of his efforts in the [Suns and Lakers] series. All that to say, he didn’t have a great series in the last series.
“… This is a guy who’s intrinsically motivated. He doesn’t need people questioning him or things on the internet to drive his improvement. The best example of that is we won the Finals last year, and he was dominant in Game 7 defensively and through a lot of the playoffs.
“I’m not really that concerned about him. The good thing is you get to confront those things again and continue to improve, and I’m confident that he’ll be ready to go.”
Here’s more from Presti’s end-of-season press conference:
- The Thunder project to be well over the second tax apron in 2026/27 if they exercise their team options on Isaiah Hartenstein, Luguentz Dort and Kenrich Williams. They could also be facing a roster crunch, with two first-round picks (Nos. 12 and 17) and one second-rounder (No. 37) on top of having most of the roster signed to guaranteed contracts for next season. However, Presti reiterated ownership is willing to spend to contend for championships if the front office deems it necessary, as Anthony Slater of ESPN relays. “Is it possible that we just pick up the options for everybody and roll into next season when we have a bigger financial jump for the team?” Presti said. “That’s certainly possible. … The process itself to get to those potential options, it could take a little while. I could see it going a little deeper into the summer than we’re used to.”
- Oklahoma City will explore a number of possibilities with those three selections in this month’s draft, Presti told reporters, including Martinez. “Everybody knows we try to move up every year,” Presti said. “We try to get a price for what it would take for us to move out entirely, and then we also have contingencies to move back in the draft. It’s all about creating value. That’s how we see each one of these picks. Sometimes, the best value is to take the best player on the board and figure it out later. … But we’ll look at all these different options.”
- Presti spoke highly of Thomas Sorber, the team’s 2025 first-round pick who tore his ACL this past September and missed his entire rookie season, Martinez writes. However, Presti doesn’t think Sorber will play in Summer League next month.
- The longtime executive also praised mid-season acquisition Jared McCain, Martinez adds. “I’ve always felt like he’s a guy that contributes to winning,” Presti said. ” … There aren’t many people that I would choose to try to assimilate into our particular team in the middle of the year. … But he had the right mindset to walk into a team like ours and in the right game. I think, going forward, there’s a more balanced player in there and not just a guy that’s going to come off and be able to hit shots like that. He really understands the game. He understands winning. He’ll put his body out there. I’m looking forward to a full summer with him, a full training camp and really seeing how he accents our full team.”
Thunder Notes: Hartenstein, Holmgren, Picks, Williams
After falling short of their title aspirations, the Thunder enter the 2026 offseason with a good amount of flexibility, but some questions still need to be answered.
One decision they will have to make is whether to retain big man Isaiah Hartenstein, and if so, by what mechanism. Hartenstein has a $28.5MM team option for next season. Oklahoma City could either pick that up or decline it and negotiate a new deal.
Whichever avenue they decide to go down – the latter seems more likely – it’s crucial that they retain the 7’0″ big man, Rylan Stiles writes for Sports Illustrated. Hartenstein demonstrated his value in the Thunder’s series over the Spurs, as his impact was felt strongly against Victor Wembanyama after Game 1, when the team adjusted to a more traditional coverage.
Hartenstein spoke of his desire to stick around during the team’s exit interviews.
“I love being here. I love the organization, but it’s a lot in their hands,” he said. “I think that them and my agent will talk. It’s a business at the end of the day. But whatever happens, I’m truly grateful.”
The expectation among reporters in Oklahoma City is that the Thunder will look to decline his option and sign him to a new deal.
We have more from around the Thunder:
- Chet Holmgren was the subject of intense scrutiny after a disappointing series against the Spurs, especially on the offensive end, but he still had a very positive season. Not only did he make his first All-Star game, finish second in Defensive Player of the Year, and make Third-Team All-NBA, but he had a strong case for best Thunder player through their first two playoff rounds, Joe Mussatto writes for The Oklahoman in his end-of-year report card. The Spurs series was a real cause for concern though, as is the year-by-year decline of his three-point volume. Holmgren’s off-season homework is to forget about Wembanyama for a bit, try to speed up his three-point shot, and develop a deeper face-up game, Mussatto writes, giving his 2025/26 season a B grade overall but an A for the regular season and the first two rounds of the playoffs.
- Given that Oklahoma City is already facing a crunch of having more good players than roster spots, many have suggested they package their two first-round picks, Nos. 12 and 17, to move up in the draft. However, it may be more beneficial for them to use both picks, Stiles opines. With extensions set to kick in for their “big three” over the next two years, the aforementioned Hartenstein decision looming, and extension decisions around the corner on Cason Wallace, Ajay Mitchell, and Jared McCain, having high-upside rookie contract players could be more important than ever for the team, Stiles explains. They will likely make decisions this summer on Luguentz Dort, Isaiah Joe, Aaron Wiggins, and Kenrich Williams, and how the draft plays out could help inform those choices.
- It’s not hard to imagine the Thunder coming to terms on a cheaper deal to keep Kenrich Williams around, Justin Martinez writes for The Oklahoman, but more questions remain for this team. Perhaps the most important one is: can Jalen Williams get healthy after a snake-bit season that saw him deal with wrist and hamstring injuries that prevented him from ever getting right? “I think rest, like everything, will really help a little bit,” he said. “We’ll just go from there … I think just having a nice cool-down period where I don’t have to try and rush or accelerate anything is going to be nice to just let my body completely settle, get back to zero.”
Knicks’ James Dolan Talks Brown, Towns, Bridges, Rose
Knicks owner James Dolan doesn’t speak to reporters often, so he’ll generate headlines by simply giving an interview about his NBA team, no matter what he says. But his remarks about the Knicks in January were hardly by the numbers. Publicly discussing the team with a media member for the first time in nearly three years, Dolan said the Knicks should win this year’s title and that making the NBA Finals was something “we’ve absolutely got to do.”
Sitting down for another rare interview ahead of the Finals, Dolan explained to Steve Serby of The New York Post why he essentially gave the club a Finals-or-bust mandate over four months ago.
“That’s why I don’t do a lot of interviews — I’m usually very frank,” the Knicks’ owner said with a smile. “I did not go into the interview thinking, ‘Oh I’m gonna say this.’ But it was on my mind, and I knew that the rest of the organization knew it too — we all knew it.
“We knew it from the moment that we said goodbye to (Tom Thibodeau) and we hired Mike (Brown), that we were gonna be in a hot spot because we just made the conference finals. We didn’t win, but you don’t make a change unless you’re expecting to do better. We didn’t change ’cause we wanted it to be worse! To me, it was a little obvious, so I just said it because it was obvious.”
While the Knicks didn’t make any major roster changes last summer ahead of the 2025/26 season, they did make a coaching change, as Dolan notes, controversially firing Thibodeau on the heels of the club’s deepest playoff run in a quarter-century.
New York was linked to several other coaching candidates before hiring Brown, which made it seem as if he wasn’t the team’s first – or second – choice. However, Dolan told Serby that president of basketball operations Leon Rose was convinced Brown was the right man for the job.
“We knew we had a good coach in Thibs. We weren’t just going for a change, right? There was something we wanted, and we laid it out, really on paper, what we were looking for in a coach,” Dolan said. “I would say the number one quality was collaborative, that was a big piece … somebody who strategically could avail himself of all the minds around him and put it together, particularly at game time, between halves, that was a big thing. And we were looking for flexibility.
“So we laid out all these sort of characteristics that we were looking for, and then I set Leon loose. And he interviewed a lot of different guys, and he came back with Mike, and I’m like, ‘OK.’ Leon did all the work. I just blessed it.”
Here are a few more highlights from Dolan’s interview with Serby:
On the Knicks’ decision to trade for Karl-Anthony Towns ahead of the 2024/25 season:
“First off, we had Isaiah (Hartenstein) before KAT, and we lost Isaiah because the rules did not allow us to hang onto him. By the CBA, etc., we were only allowed to offer him X amount of money. Other teams were allowed to offer him more. Probably should try and correct that in the next CBA with KAT. Our first preference would have been to keep going with Isaiah.
“So once we lost Isaiah, we knew we needed a big man, we needed a center, a focal point there. I knew KAT from before, I actually know him for about four or five years. I knew that he liked New York, he wanted to come. I was thrilled because to have an option like KAT was heaven-sent.”
On how difficult it was to give up five first-round picks in the trade for Mikal Bridges:
“It took a little thought (smile). Look, that’s the NBA. The idea was that Mikal was a building block for the team we wanted, which is the team we have on the floor now. We didn’t think we’d be in a lottery — we don’t expect to be in a lottery for quite some time. So, (the picks) weren’t quite as valuable … and Mikal is another player who I think we’re starting to understand just how impactful he could be.”
On hiring Rose to run the front office in 2020:
“I obviously have been doing this for a while before Leon showed up, and it was much more about just getting convinced that no matter if you get the most brilliant strategist in the world, you have to have talent in order to win. And so I thought about the guy who would be best in bringing talent to New York, and Leon’s name was at the very top of the list.
“The way he deals with the whole organization is different. He almost has an agent’s mentality about it. He’s very collaborative. He’s very big on creating a feeling of family inside of the team. It starts with him and (William Wesley) who do that. When he took the job, I think he thought long and hard about how he wanted to do it. I think this is how he wanted to do it.”
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%.
Thunder Rumors: Giannis, Mobley, Hartenstein, Draft
The Thunder were unable to defend the championship they won last year, and there’s an expectation around the league that their roster will look different in 2026/27, writes Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Substack link).
However, none of the rival executives Stein has spoken to “strongly believe” Oklahoma City will pursue Giannis Antetokounmpo in the wake of the Thunder being eliminated from the postseason. That more or less echoes previous reporting from Sam Amick of The Athletic.
President of basketball operations Sam Presti has frequently taken a long-term approach to team-building over the past several years, Stein notes, and the Thunder came close to winning the Western Conference finals despite missing Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell for much of the series.
The Thunder certainly have the assets to make a blockbuster trade if they want to, but a deal for the Bucks superstar “would genuinely shock” people around the league, according to Stein. That’s partly because Antetokounmpo’s presence could dramatically change the meticulously developed culture Presti has helped foster in Oklahoma City.
Here are a few more rumors related to the Thunder:
- Amick reported that there’s long been “chatter” about the Thunder’s interest in Evan Mobley, and league sources tell the Stein Line that OKC tried to acquire the third pick in the 2021 draft in order to select the former USC big man. However, the Cavaliers “rebuffed” those efforts, according to Stein, who points out that president of basketball operations Koby Altman tried to preemptively shut down potential inquiries on Mobley at his end-of-season press conference last week. Altman called the 2024/25 Defensive Player of the Year a “a huge part of what we do” and “consistently our best player throughout the playoffs,” per Stein.
- Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman (subscriber link) recently suggested the Thunder are likely to decline their $28.5MM team option on Isaiah Hartenstein with an eye on re-signing their starting center to a long-term deal. Stein has heard similarly, writing that early indications point to Harteinstein remaining on the team in ’26/27, even if that option is declined.
- Multiple reports have indicated that the Thunder are expected to be aggressive with their two first-round picks (Nos. 12 and 17), perhaps with a goal of moving up to select Cameron Boozer. However, rival clubs have gotten the sense that Wizards, Jazz, Grizzlies and Bulls are determined to stay in the top four, according to Stein, who says a “more realistic trade-up target” for Oklahoma City could be Aday Mara.
Spurs Notes: Wembanyama, Kornet, Champagnie, K. Johnson
Victor Wembanyama was overcome with emotion when the Spurs defeated the defending champions on Saturday night to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2014, writes Anthony Slater of ESPN.
“Winning the Larry O’Brien, it’s a childhood dream,” Wembanyama said. “Having a real shot at it, having a chance, tangible chance at winning it, realizing a dream. … The day we win it, speaking for myself, it’s going to be an amazing day of a realization of a dream. It’s hard to put into words. It’s almost like the meaning of my life.”
Former NBA guard and current NBC analyst Jamal Crawford told Jared Weiss of The Athletic he knew Wembanyama had a special ability to handle pressure and quickly learn new skills when he worked with him in the 2024 offseason. The French big man said learning how to channel his emotions has been one of the keys to his success, even if it’s an ongoing work in progress.
“This game is so hard, this team (Oklahoma City) is so good, that you gotta use every single emotion you got in you in order to win,” Wembanyama said on NBC’s post-game show. “Like, sometimes, these emotions (are) passion. It’s love for the game. Sometimes it’s anger. Sometimes it might even be jealousy, but I don’t wanna weigh myself down with any of these energies. I use them on the court.”
According to Weiss, Wembanyama has leaned on his teammates, coaches, franchise legends and his camp and family as he navigates his first postseason. The French big man “hugged every member of the Spurs organization he could find” after the final buzzer, and after he was awarded the Magic Johnson trophy for winning Western Conference finals MVP, he brought it over to Spurs fans to let them touch it and show his appreciation.
“I would say what I learned is I can go through hurdles that I didn’t know those hurdles could get so high,” Wembanyama said. “It’s just pushing through. I found resources inside of me, relentlessness. I already knew that, but doing it at this level, this is the best basketball on the planet that’s being played right now.
“The crazy thing is, maybe I’m crazy for that, but I want to do that 15, 20 more times,” Wembanyama said. “Let’s hope it doesn’t become an addiction. Maybe it is already.”
Here’s more on the Spurs:
- Wembanyama received plenty of help in Saturday’s Game 7 victory in Oklahoma City. De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, Julian Champagnie and Keldon Johnson all delivered in key moments, but the Spurs say the biggest play of the game may have belonged to backup big man Luke Kornet, according to Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News (subscriber link). With the Spurs up by six and about six-and-a-half minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Kornet had an epic chase-down block on Isaiah Hartenstein, who was going for a breakaway dunk after stealing Castle’s entry pass. “I’ve never seen Luke run that fast,” Champagnie said. “He was hauling, man, hauling.” As Orsborn notes, Castle made a pull-up jumper to put the Spurs up eight after the block then Champagnie hit a three-pointer to push the lead back up to 11. “That’s a momentum play. If they get that dunk, the crowd gets into it, guys start to feel good, and you never know what happens,” Champagnie continued. “Guys make some shots and instead of it being a six-point game it’s a two-point game, a whole different ball game. So shout out to Luke. I think that was the biggest play of the game. It took all the life out of the building. That play right there gave us the step we needed to keep the lead and keep pushing.”
- As Kelly Iko of Yahoo Sports details, Champagnie struggled in the first four games against the Thunder but he delivered again with San Antonio’s season on the line, pouring in 20 points while making 6-of-10 from long distance, grabbing six rebounds and playing high-level defense. He was a game-high plus-16 in 38 minutes. “Julian is amazing,” Wembanyama said. “He deserves everything that he gets. And he’s the type of guy that makes you wanna die for him on the court because he gives so much effort. And he’s got such an amazing story — he got cut in the NBA a few years back. He’s had tough moments, but he keeps pushing and now he’s taken his team to the NBA Finals.”
- Johnson, the longest-tenured member of the team, has had a relatively quiet postseason after being named the league’s Sixth Man of the Year. However, after scoring eight points in the fourth quarter on Saturday, the 26-year-old said his confidence never wavered. “My teammates and my coaches continued to believe in me,” he said, per Orsborn (subscription required). “I continued to believe in myself. I knew the tide would turn eventually. I didn’t know when. I didn’t know how. But I knew that as long as I just stayed engaged, stayed locked in, it would pay off. I couldn’t write it any other way than how it went today. It’s been a hard playoffs for me. There’s no denying that, but it makes it all worth it when you have big moments like this in Game 7.”
Hartenstein, Dort, K. Williams Hope To Stay With Thunder
Oklahoma City was unable to defend its championship this spring, having been eliminated by San Antonio on Saturday night in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals. No matter how their season ended, the Thunder were going to have to decide what route they wanted to take with Isaiah Hartenstein, Luguentz Dort and Kenrich Williams.
The Thunder currently project to have a payroll of about $196.2MM in ’26/27 with 12 players under contract. That doesn’t account for the team options for starting center Hartenstein ($28.5MM), starting forward Dort ($18.2MM), or reserve forward Williams ($7.2MM).
There’s technically nothing preventing Oklahoma City from exercising all three of those options as long as ownership is willing to foot the luxury tax bill. However, picking up all the options would see the Thunder go soaring past the second tax apron (projected to be $221.7MM), and they could be facing a roster crunch. They control a pair of first-round picks (Nos. 12 and 17) in the upcoming draft, and players selected in the first round get four-year contracts, with the first two being guaranteed.
Williams was straightforward in expressing his desire to stay with the Thunder long term, according to Rylan Stiles of SI.com (Twitter link).
“It’s no secret that I want to be here until I’m done playing,” said Williams. “Just the environment, the culture, the people that I work with every day. This is a job where I can come in and be myself and everybody around me is good people and a good environment.”
Hartenstein was a little more guarded in his response, noting the decision is largely the team’s, but he made it clear he loves the franchise, as Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman tweets.
“We just lost yesterday, so at the end of the day, that’s something that will be discussed more at the end,” said Hartenstein, likely referring to the end of June, the deadline for the team option to be exercised. “I love being here. I love the organization, but it’s a lot in their hands. I think that them and my agent will talk. It’s a business at the end of the day. But whatever happens, I’m truly grateful.”
Dort, who has spent all seven of his NBA seasons in OKC, said his priority is to stay with the Thunder, per Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic (Twitter link).
“The conversation hasn’t happened yet. I have a lot of trust in this organization, in (head of basketball operations) Sam (Presti),” Dort said. “Really grateful for all the stuff he did for me to this point. I want to stay here. This organization, this city shaped me as a player. My main goal is to stay here.”
Thunder Notes: Mitchell, J. Williams, McCain, Caruso, Hartenstein, Holmgren
Ajay Mitchell will remain sidelined when the Western Conference Finals resume Thursday night at San Antonio. Mitchell is listed as out on the Thunder’s official injury report with a right soleus (calf) strain, marking the third straight game he will miss since suffering the injury last Friday.
OKC’s offense struggled in Game 4 without Mitchell and Jalen Williams, who are two of the team’s primary ball-handlers. However, the Thunder posted 127 points in Tuesday’s Game 5, repeatedly pushing the tempo to create easier scoring opportunities.
Williams remains questionable due to left hamstring strain injury management, and his official status may not be determined until shortly before tip-off. He was a late scratch in Games 4 and 5.
There’s more on the Thunder:
- Coach Mark Daigneault was looking for an offensive spark when he opted to start Jared McCain instead of Cason Wallace, and the move seemed to shake the team from its malaise, states Jenni Carlson of The Oklahoman. Although McCain got off to a slow start, his presence on the floor created more room for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren, who combined for 15 first quarter points, Carlson notes. McCain finished with 20 points in 33 minutes in his first career playoff start.
- The Thunder got another dominant effort from their bench in Game 5, and their reserves are now outscoring San Antonio’s by a 257-127 margin for the series, according to Tim Willert of The Associated Press. “We have good players on our bench. They’ve got good players on their bench,” said Alex Caruso, who contributed 22 points and six assists in 28 minutes. “So, we know that’s an area of the game where you can try to find some positive plus-minus time for that group.”
- Daigneault often used smaller defenders against Victor Wembanyama during the regular season, but that task has mostly fallen to Isaiah Hartenstein in the playoffs, notes Ben Golliver of ESPN. Hartenstein’s physicality has bothered the Spurs star, who shot just 4-of-15 from the field on Tuesday.
- Holmgren, who turned in his best game of the series with 16 points and 11 rebounds in nearly 30 minutes, talked to Fred Katz of The Athletic about his approach to basketball and the balance between individual and team success. “Ego has been the downfall of many people’s careers,” Holmgren said. “I feel like ego gets in the way of maximizing the moment and also understanding. Basically, what you’re asking me is, would I trade what we just accomplished last year and the opportunity that we have (this year) and the group that we have? Would I sacrifice that to go be able to shoot 20 shots a game? I don’t think so.”
Thunder Notes: Williams, McCain, Bench, Presti
The Thunder are heading into San Antonio with a tied series and a question mark hanging over their All-NBA wing, Jalen Williams, who is currently listed as day-to-day with a left hamstring injury and is questionable to play on Friday.
Whether Williams returns for Game 3 or misses the rest of the series, the Thunder should still feel good about their chances to beat the Spurs and advance to the NBA Finals, Joe Mussatto writes for The Oklahoman. That’s partly because of the injuries facing the Spurs’ backcourt, as both De’Aaron Fox and Dylan Harper are questionable for Game 3. It’s also because the Thunder are, by now, experienced in winning without Williams.
“Obviously if we don’t have him it hurts,” Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I still believe in this team, though. Like you said, we played a bunch of games without him, won big games without him, but I still think we can get the job done. But yeah, losing a guy like that, a caliber of player like that, no matter how good your team is otherwise, it hurts a little bit. And also for him as a human being. He had a tough year with injuries.”
While Williams is a more accomplished, experienced player than Harper, Mussatto posits that in this particular matchup, Harper might be more important to the Spurs’ game plan than Williams is to the Thunder’s, especially if Fox remains out.
We have more notes from the Thunder:
- While Jared McCain is known for his three-point shooting, as well as his TikTok dances, he knows that to play in this hard-fought series, he will need to tap into a more gritty skill set. “Anything I can do. Shot’s not falling, I want to stay on the court no matter what,” he said, per Jordan Davis of The Oklahoman (video link). “So if I can make some hustle plays, get some rebounds, anything I can to stay in the floor I wanna do.” McCain contributed four offensive rebounds, three assists, and two steals in his 26 minutes during Game 2, bringing a level of hustle that seemed to help energize the team even though he shot just 4-of-14 from the field.
- McCain isn’t the only Thunder reserve who understands what it will take to earn minutes at the highest level. The Thunder’s bench is deep with players who stay ready for their number to be called, Justin Martinez writes for The Oklahoman. That includes Cason Wallace, Ajay Mitchell, and Alex Caruso, the last of whom has been integral to the team’s success so far this season. “I think it’s just a team that, one through 15, everyone is always ready,” Mitchell said. “Everyone really buys into it. I feel like every time we put someone in, he’s going to have an impact, which is huge.” Caruso, who has two championships to his name and is looking for a third, said that having that mindset is a prerequisite for achieving what the team hopes to achieve. “It’s that time of year,” he said. “If you’re not fearless, then you’re probably gonna lose and go home. You’ve got to lay it all out on the line if you want to win. If you want to win big, at least. If you want to win the last game of the season, which I do. Every time that I’m here, I want to win the last one. For me, it’s pretty easy to get myself going and lock into that mentality.”
- When general manager Sam Presti recruited Isaiah Hartenstein as a free agent, there was little in the way of flash, despite the fact that he would eventually offer the German center the largest free agent contract in Thunder history. Instead, Presti focused on what really mattered to him: the team identity he had spent years building. “I can’t promise you minutes,” Presti told Hartenstein, per ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. “I can’t promise you a role. But I can promise you a culture.” After losing to the Mavericks in the second round of the 2024 playoffs, Presti didn’t panic or go star-hunting. Instead, he focused on bringing in the kinds of players who would enhance the stars already on the roster: Hartenstein, for one. Caruso, for another. It’s a decision that has been felt and appreciated throughout the organization. “Sam has passed on talents to get human beings,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “That mindset has really helped this group. It’s a big reason why we all get along so well and have this chemistry that everyone talks about. Sam brings a certain type of person in here.” Those two players proved crucial in Oklahoma City’s first title run last season, and have been equally critical this postseason, as they’ve hit timely shots, played physical defense against the likes of Victor Wembanyama, and made the hustle plays that set the Thunder’s hard-nosed defense apart.
Northwest Notes: Boozer, Lillard, Blazers Decisions, Hartenstein
Projected top-three draft pick Cameron Boozer has clear familial ties to the Jazz, who hold the second pick in the 2026 draft. His father, Carlos Boozer, spent six seasons in Utah, including his two All-Star years, and works with the team to this day in their scouting department.
Cameron was born in Salt Lake City, though he moved away before his fourth birthday, and he says that his conversations with his dad about following in his footsteps generally had more to do with Chicago than his hometown, Kevin Reynolds writes for the Salt Lake Tribune.
When it comes to the young power forward’s potential on-court fit with Utah, though, there are clear questions, as the Jazz already boast one of the larger frontcourts in the league, led by Lauri Markkanen, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Walker Kessler. Boozer could fit in nicely as a big off the bench who can play alongside any of those other big men and focus on his play-making, which was a strength in college.
While Boozer views himself as the top talent in the draft, he said his focus is on getting to the place that will get the most out of him.
“Whether it is one, two, three or four, I want the best fit,” Boozer said. “I mean, it would be nice to play for a city that my dad played for. Obviously, Chicago (picking fourth overall) is another great city.”
We have more from around the Northwest Division:
- Damian Lillard‘s first season back with the Trail Blazers consisted of a three-point contest championship and a lot of mentoring from the bench. Next season, he is expected to return to the court, but not everyone is clear on what that will look like. “I don’t understand what he brings to the table, especially with [Jrue Holiday] and [Scoot Henderson] already on the roster,” one anonymous scout told Joe Freeman of Oregon Live. “You could say he brings shooting. Well, yeah, but how did he get his shots? With the ball in his hands. It didn’t work in Milwaukee. If he’s dominating the ball, is [Shaedon Sharpe] developing? Is Scoot developing?” Lillard, for his part, says that his time watching from the bench helped him understand exactly those questions: “I got an opportunity to learn my teammates. I’m going to be playing with these guys, and just seeing what might set them off, seeing what they’re doing when they play well, seeing where they might struggle, seeing where our team struggles, ways that I think we could improve.“
- The Trail Blazers have plenty of roster decisions to make this summer, starting with what to do with Henderson. Unless the former third overall pick is included in a deal for a star player, it would behoove the team to try to work out a reasonable contract extension with him, Sean Highkin writes in a player movement prediction article for the Rose Garden Report (subscriber link), citing Sharpe’s four-year, $90MM extension from last summer as a reasonable starting place for Henderson. Vit Krejci and Sidy Cissoko are strong candidates to stick around, while players like Robert Williams III and Matisse Thybulle are worth hanging onto but could also be more valued by other teams.
- Isaiah Hartenstein only played 12 minutes in the Thunder‘s Game 1 loss to the Spurs. Prior to Game 2, coach Mark Daigneault pulled the German big man aside and told him that he “didn’t feel great” about giving him so few minutes, Jenni Carlson writes for The Oklahoman. Hartenstein was unbothered, saying he’d do whatever was needed. In Game 2, what was needed was to take the lion’s share of minutes against Spurs star Victor Wembanyama. “The other night, [Wemby] just had way too much of the restricted (area), but if you zoom out, they turned the ball over a ton, we gave up 101 points in regulation,” Daigneault said. “The quality of shots were what we would want, other than his stuff at the rim.“
- Putting wings on Wembanyama in Game 1 created a shot diet in the paint that the Thunder coach felt was too sustainable, which is why he turned to Hartenstein to add physicality and size as a rim protector. In addition to helping hold the French superstar to just four rim attempts (compared to 17 in Game 1), Hartenstein added eight offensive rebounds and made sure Wembanyama felt him every time down the floor. “I thought he just did a good job of being physical, making him work all game,” Alex Caruso said. “Which ended up being beneficial for him on the glass late in the game. He cleaned that up offensively and defensively for us.”