Peter Okereke
Should the Oklahoma City Thunder consider moving on from All-Star center Chet Holmgren after a four-point dud in Game 7’s 111-103 loss to Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals? ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins sure thinks so.
The former NBA and Thunder star called out Holmgren following the game for his underwhelming performance against the Spurs.
With OKC’s season on the line, Holmgren’s dreadful performance led to Perkins telling the Thunder’s front office to quickly consider its options. According to him, Victor Wembanyama and the young San Antonio team would only get better from this point onwards.
Speaking on ESPN’s SportsCenter, Kendrick Perkins lashed out at Chet Holmgren:
“We’re talking about a guy that was a first-time All-Star this year and made Third Team All-NBA, and was a complete no-show. Not just in Game 7, but this whole series. Wemby straight up not only punked him but he took his heart, he snatched his soul.”
Perkins continued, doubling down on why he feels Oklahoma City needs to find someone that can play Holmgren’s role much better.
“Chet Holmgren was scared to compete,” he said. “And now Sam Presti — he has real business decisions to make when it comes to Chet Holmgren. This is not a an overreaction. This is facts. Wembanyama is not going anywhere. He’s going to be here. With that being said, you have to find somebody that’s going to be that dude.”
Perkins further suggested that Chet Holmgren‘s value should be evaluated with the Milwaukee Bucks for a potential trade for All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who’s reportedly expected to be on the move this summer.
“You gotta go find a guy like a Giannis Antetokounmpo that’s gonna come in and move the needle and be able to go toe to toe in some capacity with Wembanyama because Chet Holmgren aint it,” he added.
Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see how the Thunder front office will proceed, entering the offseason with plenty of assets, and tradeable contracts after losing Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals.
