By Rowan Fisher-Shotton0ShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberSee more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.The San Antonio Spurs eliminated the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder 111-103 in a Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals on Saturday night, punching their ticket to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2014.
Victor Wembanyama led San Antonio with 22 points and seven rebounds. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander answered with 35 points and nine assists. It still wasn't enough, and one of the biggest reasons why was Chet Holmgren.
Holmgren became the first player in NBA playoff history to attempt two or fewer shots while playing over 30 minutes in a Game 7, and he didn't attempt a single shot in the final 31 minutes he logged. He finished with just four points and four rebounds in 33 minutes.
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The disappointing finish raises difficult questions for OKC heading into a pivotal offseason, one that could soon become significantly more expensive as the franchise navigates several major financial decisions.
Both Holmgren and Jalen Williams have max contract extensions that kick in next season at $41.25 million each. SGA is due $40.8 million before his supermax begins in 2027-28. That's three guys eating nearly $125 million, before you even get to the rest of the roster.
With Holmgren and Jalen Williams becoming max players next season, OKC currently projects to have $260 million on the books for 2026-27, about $40 million above the second apron, which would trigger roughly $500 million in combined salary and luxury tax penalties.
As a result, many around the league believe the Thunder could eventually be forced to make a difficult roster decision, and Holmgren's playoff collapse has made him an easy target.
Yet Holmgren may not be the right player to move. It may actually be Lu Dort.
"Dort has a $17.7 million team option and is an elite perimeter defender, but on a roster with Alex Caruso, Cason Wallace, and a host of other good defenders, OKC can handle the loss," wrote NBC Sports' Kurt Helin.
Helin noted how OKC can either trade him or outright release him, which, in addition to declining and restructuring Isaiah Hartenstein's $28.5 million team option at a lower figure, would free up a lot of necessary cap space.
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ESPN's Tim MacMahon recently reported that the Thunder aren't looking to move Holmgren, and Williams, who has played only 33 regular-season games and appeared in just five of OKC's 15 playoff games due to a hamstring injury, remains the long-term co-star that GM Sam Presti built this thing around.
An All-Defensive First Team selection, Dort has been one of the NBA's premier perimeter defenders for years and would leave behind a significant hole if he left.
But Oklahoma City's depth makes that loss survivable, and far easier to absorb than moving a player like Holmgren or Williams.
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