Chet Holmgren’s Embarrassing Performances in West Finals Lead Analysts to Demand OKC to Trade Him

Chet Holmgren is about to earn $41 million next season despite his atrocious performances in the Western Conference Finals.

Chet Holmgren’s Embarrassing Performances in West Finals Lead Analysts to Demand OKC to Trade Him

OKC center Chet Holmgren (Image via FirstSportz)

After the Oklahoma City Thunder’s championship defence came to a standstill, it was time for the basketball world to dissect Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren and their respective performances.

The two-time league MVP had his best performance in Game 7, but with his primary running-mate, Williams, out due to injury, that effort was not enough to stop the San Antonio Spurs from advancing to the NBA Finals.

But the Thunder carefully built a team that is essentially three primary core superstars, and a bunch of highly capable complementary players.

That meant that most of the blame would land on the center’s shoulders, especially after his disastrous four-point performance in the series closer.

In a perfect world, this would have been the last game Chet plays in an Oklahoma City uniform. He should be traded… You need a productive offensive player on your front line who you can rely upon. It was supposed to be 7’1″ Chet Holmgren… You don’t have the heart to be in that position.

Stephen A. Smith said on First Take

The longtime analyst mentioned that despite knowing that Victor Wembanyama was coming for him, Holmgren did nothing. That lack of heart is as bad as it can get, and the franchise should take advantage of the current situation in Milwaukee to fix the problem.

Stephen A. Smith called GM Sam Presti to dive into the bucket load of draft assets and players he has to make the deal. Giannis Antetokounmpo is not someone who backs down from the French Phenom, and that is what OKC needs.

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Kendrick Perkins agrees with Stephen A. Smith’s Chet Holmgren trade analogy

Soon after Stephen A. finished his analogy, First Take host Shae Cornette asked Kendrick Perkins to give his opinion. On that go-ahead signal, the former Oklahoma City Thunder center said this.

Chet Holmgren being dunked on by Victor Wembanyama
Chet Holmgren being dunked on by Victor Wembanyama (Image via Courtside Buzz/X)

I would trade him before the draft… He didn’t swing a punch! That showed no heart whatsoever… One word we can never put on them (OKC) is soft. What Chet Holmgren showed is ‘I’m soft, and I’m scared.’ He was scared throughout the entire series!

Kendrick Perkins said

The big man is not speaking just out of his mind. He anchored the interior for the 2008 championship-winning Boston Celtics and almost did the same for the Thunder alongside Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.

He felt that Chet Holmgren played scared, and that was unlike any other player wearing blue and white. Perkins brought up the Minnesota native’s $240 million contract and asked whether the 24-year-old’s performance justified all that money.

The ESPN analyst then took it a step further and asked his former team to trade Holmgren before the upcoming NBA Draft. That is because if they are to fight for a few NBA championships, they need some tough players to deal with a certain Wembanyama.

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Shannon Sharpe goes off on Chet Holmgren’s lack of accountability

While the ESPN duo asked the Thunder to trade Chet Holmgren, their former First Take colleague, Shannon Sharpe, took aim at the center’s lack of accountability.

We ain’t collecting 240 million. You did. We weren’t on the All-NBA team. You were. The difference is Shai accepts accountability. He takes responsibility, and that’s how you grow. But see, to try to obfuscate and to try to place the blame on the team. No, no, no. What shot did you shot that didn’t go down?

Shannon Sharpe said on Nightcap

The Hall of Famer talked about Gilgeous-Alexander taking the onus of their Western Conference Finals loss on his shoulders to point out why Holmgren was wrong to deflect blame.

Sharpe pointed to the latter’s performance and effort in Game Seven to prove that the loss was on him, and there was no point trying to escape it.

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