Thunder unlikely to trade Chet Holmgren, pursue Giannis Antetokounmpo

The Thunder have spent years building one of the NBA’s deepest young rosters.

According to Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman, don’t expect Oklahoma City to abandon that plan now.

As Giannis Antetokounmpo trade speculation continues to dominate offseason conversations around the league, Mussatto recently argued that the Thunder are unlikely to make an all-in push for the Bucks superstar.

The reasoning is straightforward. Oklahoma City remains firmly in championship contention as currently constructed.

Despite falling to the Spurs in the Western Conference finals, the Thunder were dealing with significant injuries during the series. Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell missed most of the matchup, while Chet Holmgren struggled through one of the roughest stretches of his young career.

Even so, Oklahoma City remained competitive. That’s one reason Mussatto believes a blockbuster pursuit of Antetokounmpo would be out of character for executive Sam Presti.

While Presti has never been afraid to make major moves, he’s also built a reputation for patience and discipline. According to Mussatto, including Williams in a deal for Antetokounmpo would be a “non-starter” for the organization.

Holmgren isn’t expected to be available either.

The Thunder view the 23-year-old big man as a key piece of their future, and moving him would significantly alter both the roster’s timeline and financial outlook.

There’s also the matter of fit.

Antetokounmpo remains one of the NBA’s best players, but he’s several years older than Oklahoma City’s core and has dealt with a series of postseason injuries in recent years. Acquiring him would also make an already expensive roster even more costly moving forward.

None of this means the Thunder will sit idle this summer.

With a treasure chest of draft picks and young talent, Oklahoma City remains one of the league’s most flexible organizations and is expected to explore opportunities to improve the roster.

Just don’t expect the Thunder to panic after coming within one series of the NBA Finals.

If anything, the belief inside the organization appears to be that this group is still only getting started. And that may be reason enough to stay the course.