Chet Holmgren’s next step with the Thunder may not be about adding bulk or chasing blocks. It may come down to how dangerous he can be from the perimeter.
Oklahoma City’s offseason moves have pointed in one direction: Holmgren is not being set up as the team’s long-term answer at center. General manager Sam Presti has made it clear he is not looking to move the big man, but the roster decisions around him have sent a different kind of message. With Aday Mara added and Isaiah Hartenstein already in the mix, Holmgren looks headed for a more permanent spot away from the rim.
That shift matters because the Thunder can’t afford to stack too many non-shooters around Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Since Gilgeous-Alexander lives in the paint, Oklahoma City needs spacing, not traffic. That makes Holmgren the likeliest big to drift outward and spend more time on the wing.
He’s already shown he can handle that job to a degree. Holmgren has been a respectable three-point shooter for a center, hitting around 35.0 percent from deep and giving the Thunder a real floor-spacing edge. Last season, he shot 36.2 percent on 3.5 attempts per game, and those numbers figure to matter even more if his role keeps expanding.
The catch is that what once counted as a bonus may now be a requirement. If Holmgren is going to be stationed farther from the basket, Oklahoma City will need him to keep improving his release quickness and his willingness to let it fly. His 37.2 percent mark on catch-and-shoot threes last season was good for third on the team among players who averaged more than 20.0 minutes per game, and that skill set becomes even more valuable now that Isaiah Joe is gone.
Holmgren still figures to see some time at center in small-ball lineups, but the days of him serving as a full-time rim protector may be over. The Thunder appear to believe he is more effective as a forward, and if his perimeter shooting keeps climbing, that role could end up making him even more valuable than he has been before.
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