Gilbert Arenas weighs in on Chet Holmgren trade calls

It’s no secret that Chet Holmgren struggled in the Western Conference Finals against the San Antonio Spurs. Almost as soon as the Oklahoma City Thunder were eliminated, many individuals were claiming OKC should trade the 7-foot-one big man.

Former NBA point guard Gilbert Arenas joined the discourse on Thursday.

However, Arenas defended Holmgren and said that the Thunder should not listen to the critics calling for the club to trade the 24-year-old forward/center in the latest episode of “The Gilbert Arenas Show.” Instead, he believes the right thing to do is for Holmgren to acknowledge he played poorly, learn from it, and grow to be better for next season.

“I say. Hey, Chet, you know the feeling of what this feels like. You know, if you let your team down or not, that’s on you,” said Arenas. “And that’s something you’re going to have to grow in this summer and be better next season.

I don’t need to whip him or beat him up mentally. He knows what happened, how he feels, how he felt in this series, and he knows he let his teammates down. So, you let him grow from this, and hopefully, he comes back a stronger Chet.”

Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green said something similar about Chet Holmgren and the Thunder. Green believes the trade demands are egregious and that Oklahoma City would be making a huge mistake by trading the three-year veteran away.

While the Western Conference Finals weren’t his best series, Holmgren is certainly no bum. The 2025-26 campaign was the best season of his career so far, as he finished second in the Defensive Player of the Year voting, was named on the All-Defensive First-Team, All-NBA Third Team, and was named an All-Star for the first time in his career.