As is usually the case with top teams, the Oklahoma City Thunder have had a quiet trade deadline week while the rest of the league descends into chaos around them. Sam Presti has gotten his fix of acquiring more second round picks with a swap with the Hornets and taking on Daniel Theis from the Pelicans to help them duck the tax, but the West’s current top seed is, understandably, looking to keep things together.
While the Thunder have ample ammunition to make a big move, there’s no real reason to when you are 40-9 and the vibes are as good as they have been in Oklahoma City. That could change this summer if they have another early exit from the postseason, but for now they’re happy to ride the positivity and give this young group a shot at a title run. While they don’t figure to make any significant deadline trades, they are getting a big boost on deadline week in the form of Chet Holmgren’s return to the lineup, as he was removed from the injury report ahead of their game on Friday against the Raptors and announced he was back on social media.
Holmgren has missed the last three months with a fractured hip he suffered in a hard fall against the Warriors in early November. Without him, the Thunder have continued ripping through the NBA, but for this team to be a legitimate championship contender, they’ll need Holmgren in the lineup.
Prior to his injury, Holmgren was averaging 16.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks per game on 50.5/37.8/77.6 shooting splits — all very similar averages to his standout rookie campaign. Now he returns to the Thunder lineup and will play with Isaiah Hartenstein for the first time, as their big free agent signing this summer was out with an injury to start the season and didn’t return until after Holmgren was hurt. It’s never as easy as just plugging a guy in and adding his stats to what you already have, but Holmgren unquestionably elevates the Thunder’s ceiling. There may be an adjustment period needed for them to figure out exactly how to play together, but it’s not hard to see how all of the pieces in OKC can complement each other.
On offense, Holmgren’s ability to shoot and space the floor along with Hartenstein’s passing ability as a high-post hub, figure to give them plenty of space to work as a two-big lineup. On defense, they will create major problems for opponents trying to get to the rim, but Mark Daigneault’s task will be figuring out exactly how to deploy them and what coverages they work best in with regards to switching, blitzing, dropping, and more. OKC will likely experiment with different things in that two-big lineup for the next couple months with an eye on knowing their strengths come playoff time, where they hope to be healthy and make a Finals run.