Thunder Not Expected To Pursue Giannis, Interested In Mobley?

The Spurs not only caught up to the Thunder sooner than expected but surpassed them by eliminating the defending champions in Oklahoma City on Saturday night, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic. The big question now facing the Thunder is how the team can solve the unprecedented challenge that Victor Wembanyama presents.

While a major roster overhaul would be shocking considering the Thunder were 71-14 against every other team in the league in 2025/26, they went just 4-8 against San Antonio in what could be the beginning of a long rivalry.

League sources have told Amick throughout the season that Oklahoma City is not expected to pursue Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, though speculation will undoubtedly pick up on that front in the wake of the Thunder being eliminated. Amick has also heard “chatter” for some time about the Thunder being interested in Evan Mobley, whom Cavaliers president of basketball operations (Koby Altman) recently called “part of our future.”

As Dan Woike of The Athletic writes, one key player who really struggled under the bright lights of Game 7 was big man Chet Holmgren, who was named to the All-NBA Third Team and finished runner-up to Wembanyama in Defensive Player of the Year voting. Holmgren finished with just four points (on 1-of-2 shooting), four rebounds, two steals, two blocks and two turnovers in 33 minutes.

“They’re a unique team in terms of personnel, what their personnel does,” Holmgren said softly after the game. “I don’t think there’s another team that has the same kind of play style.”

Holmgren’s struggles against Wembanyama and the Spurs aren’t a new development, as he was largely ineffective during the 12 combined times the two teams faced off in 2025/26. The 24-year-old center/forward averaged 10.7 points, 7.1 and 1.1 blocks in 29.9 minutes per game with a shooting line of .510/.273/.769 during the Western Conference finals, a far cry from the numbers he posted during the first two rounds of the playoffs (18.6 PPG, 9.1 RPG, 1.8 BPG, 1.4 SPG on .600/.387/.885 shooting).

“That’s not all on him,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said. “I actually thought he played his minutes pretty well. You know, I thought that run at the end of the second quarter that got us back going and cut into the (lead), I mean, he was a huge part of that in ways that may not be in the box score visibly.”

While Daigneault certainly wasn’t wrong in that assessment of that stretch, Woike points out that Holmgren was unable to sustain that level of play throughout the game. Jenni Carlson of The Oklahoman (subscriber link), graded Holmgren’s Game 7 performance as an “F,” while her colleague Joe Mussatto gave Cason Wallace an A+.

“There’s no running from improvement,” Holmgren said, per Woike. “I always look at it as no matter what — good, bad, win, loss, whatever it might be — you have to continue to improve. So, that’s the mindset.”

The Thunder will face some difficult roster decisions this summer, with the five-year, maximum-salary extensions for Holmgren and Jalen Williams set to begin in 2026/27. They also hold sizeable team options on Isaiah Hartenstein, Luguentz Dort and Kenrich Williams.

Still, Alex Caruso was defiant in his belief that the Spurs aren’t a problem that can’t be solved, Woike adds.

“There’s nothing that needs to be solved,” Alex Caruso said. “We could have won the game (Saturday), and we would have been asking them maybe the same thing. I don’t think there’s this huge narrative of, like, this is a bugaboo. … We should have played better and won the game and been in the NBA Finals.

“They’re a good team, they’re young. We’re a good team, we’re young. Both will probably be around for a while, so we gotta get better and try to win next time.”