Chet Holmgren’s knee injury may have done more than sideline one of Oklahoma City’s key bigs. It may also have shoved the New York Knicks a step further back in their own search for frontcourt help.
Holmgren is expected to miss the next eight to 10 weeks after suffering a patellar tendon tear in his right knee, and that opens the door for the Thunder to go shopping for another center. For the Knicks, who already should be looking for an upgrade on Andre Drummond, that’s a problem. If both teams are chasing the same backup big, the overlap in targets is obvious - and Oklahoma City is the team better positioned to win that fight.
The Thunder can at least try to absorb Holmgren’s absence with what they already have. Isaiah Hartenstein, Aday Mara and Jaylin Williams give them options, though it’s not simple to play two of those bigs together at once. Holmgren also spends much of his time alongside other big men, which only adds to the challenge of replacing him cleanly.
There’s also the matter of how the injury is being handled. Holmgren is pursuing a “biological treatment” course, and while it was reportedly successful, it sounds like a more experimental path than the usual route. Even if that approach works, his history of lower-body injuries could still stretch the timeline.
Oklahoma City already appears to be adjusting. The team had been set to use its final roster spot on Ochai Agbaji, but backed off and started considering other options once the Holmgren news hit. That kind of pivot doesn’t happen unless a team is at least exploring the backup-center market.
For New York, the bigger issue is simple leverage - or the lack of it. If the Knicks and Thunder are after the same player, Oklahoma City has the stronger hand.
The Thunder control all of their own first-round picks going forward, plus at least three more first-rounders from other teams. The Knicks, meanwhile, can only move their 2033 first-round pick.
That matters because Oklahoma City can afford to overpay in a way New York can’t. The Knicks aren’t about to send out a distant first for a reserve big, and they don’t have the same flexibility to win a bidding war.
The cap situation tilts things even more toward the Thunder. Oklahoma City has $20.6 million in room beneath the second apron, while New York has just $370,000. The Thunder can make a deal without giving up a rotation player, and with their trade exceptions, they may not have to give up any players at all.
The Knicks don’t have that kind of freedom. If they make a move, they’ll almost certainly have to part with someone who’s already in the rotation. Attaching second-round picks to Pacome Dadiet can only take them so far, and even Deuce McBride or someone like Jose Alvarado, once he’s trade-eligible, may have to be included.
So no, Oklahoma City entering the big-man market doesn’t shut the door on New York. But it does mean the Thunder can easily complicate things. If they want the same backup center the Knicks do, they can take at least one option off the board - and probably do it with a lot more firepower.
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