The Thunder were not just a team that came close. They went 64-18, finished with the best record in the West, had the best net rating in the league, and still lost before the NBA Finals. That changes the offseason.
This is no longer a young team with time to wait. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is in his prime. Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams are moving into max money. The roster is expensive now, and the next version has to be built with the Spurs in mind. The Thunder did not just lose a random series. They lost to Victor Wembanyama, a 22-year-old superstar who is now in the Finals and can become the main problem in the West for the next decade.
That makes the offseason uncomfortable. Keeping the roster together is the easy answer, but easy is not always correct. The Thunder can’t pay every veteran, keep every young player, and still act like the second apron won’t matter. They also can’t ignore what happened in Game 7. Gilgeous-Alexander had 35 points and nine assists. Holmgren had four points and did not attempt a shot after the first quarter. Williams missed the game with a hamstring injury. The Thunder’s depth was strong all season, but their top-end force was not enough when the series got tight.
That is why the front office has to be harsh. Some useful players may need to go. Some young players may need to become trade chips. One major swing may need to be explored, even if it means putting Holmgren in a deal for Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Here are four harsh moves the Thunder must make in the 2026 offseason.
1. Trade Lu Dort Before His Team Option Becomes A Cap Trap
Luguentz Dort should be the first real decision.
Dort has a $17.7 million team option for 2026-27, with a $18.2 million cap hit if bonuses are included. The deadline is June 29. That gives the Thunder a direct choice: keep paying for one of their original defensive pieces, or use his value before the roster becomes too expensive.
The harsh move is to trade him.
Dort has been important to the Thunder’s identity. He defends the best guard or wing, plays with force, takes physical matchups, and gives Gilgeous-Alexander fewer hard defensive assignments. That role has real value. The problem is not the player. The problem is the cost and the roster overlap.
Dort finished the season with 8.3 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.2 assists. He shot 38.5% from the field and 34.4% from three. Those numbers are fine for a defensive role player, but they are not enough to make him safe at $17.7 million. The Thunder have reached the point where every medium salary has to defend its place on the sheet.
The Thunder already have Alex Caruso. They already have Cason Wallace. They have Aaron Wiggins, Isaiah Joe, Jared McCain, Ajay Mitchell, and other players who can take guard and wing minutes. None of them bring Dort’s exact physical defense, but the Thunder are not short on backcourt and wing bodies.
That is the key part. Dort is valuable, but he is not rare enough to protect at any cost. Caruso gives them championship-level defensive reads. Wallace gives them youth, ball pressure, and cheaper money. Wiggins gives them size and a more efficient offensive profile. Joe gives them shooting. McCain gives them shot-making. Mitchell gives them another downhill guard.
Dort’s defense is better than most of that group, but his offense is the pressure point. In playoff series, teams will still help off him. They will still test the jumper. They will still make him finish possessions. That is hard when the salary is small. It is harder when the salary is close to $18.0 million and the roster is facing second-apron pressure.
The Thunder should not just decline the option and lose him for nothing. The better move is to pick it up only if there is a trade path. Dort still has value around the league because every contender needs point-of-attack defense. A team with more offensive creation and less tax pressure could value him more than the Thunder can right now.
This would be harsh because Dort has been part of the rise. He was there before the title. He helped build the defensive edge. But teams trying to extend a championship window have to move before emotion controls the cap sheet.
The Thunder need to trade Dort while his reputation is still strong and before his option becomes just another expensive role-player number.
2. Decline Isaiah Hartenstein’s $28.5 Million Team Option
Isaiah Hartenstein helped the Thunder. That part should not be ignored.
He gave them size, screening, passing, rebounding, and a different frontcourt look next to Holmgren. He produced 9.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 3.5 assists while shooting 62.2% from the field. He made the regular season easier. He gave the Thunder a real center who could handle physical matchups and keep Holmgren from carrying every frontcourt burden.
Still, the Thunder should decline his $28.5 million team option.
That number is too high for a non-star center on this roster. The Thunder are already paying Gilgeous-Alexander, Holmgren, and Williams max-level money. Caruso is at $19.6 million. Dort has his own option. Joe, Wallace, and other rotation players are coming with future decisions. A $28.5 million center can make sense if he is one of the main answers in the playoffs. Hartenstein is not that for this team.
The Spurs series made it clearer. The Thunder did not lose because they lacked regular-season size. They lost because their top-end playoff answers were not strong enough when Williams was hurt and Holmgren was quiet. Hartenstein can help stabilize games, but he does not solve the Wembanyama problem. He also does not give them enough offensive force to justify that salary next to an expensive core.
The number also blocks other paths. If the Thunder keep Hartenstein, they keep a very good regular-season piece, but they also keep a huge salary attached to a role that may not close the biggest games. In a playoff series against the Spurs, Knicks, Nuggets, Rockets, or Lakers, the final five will still depend on Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams, Holmgren or another star big, Caruso or Wallace, and shooting. Hartenstein can be useful, but $28.5 million for usefulness is dangerous.
This is where the Thunder have to think like a contender, not like a team collecting good players. Good players are not always good contracts. Hartenstein’s option is one of the easiest ways to create breathing room.
Declining the option does not mean Hartenstein failed. It means the roster moved into a different financial stage. The Thunder got value from him. Now they need flexibility.
There is also a tactical point. If the Thunder are serious about chasing Giannis Antetokounmpo or another major frontcourt upgrade, Hartenstein’s role becomes even less stable. Paying $28.5 million to a center while trying to add a superstar big does not work. The Thunder would have too much money in the frontcourt and not enough playoff balance.
A cheaper reunion would be fine if the market collapses and Hartenstein wants to return on a different deal. But the option itself should be declined. The Thunder can’t enter 2026-27 carrying that number out of comfort.
This is the cleanest harsh move on the board. Cut the biggest non-core salary. Accept the regular-season cost. Use the flexibility for something bigger.
3. Put Chet Holmgren On The Table For Giannis Antetokounmpo
This is the move that would hurt the most.
Chet Holmgren is young, skilled, long, and already one of the best defensive bigs in the league. He posted 17.1 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 1.7 assists while shooting 55.7% from the field. He protects the rim, spaces the floor, and fits the Thunder’s speed and length. In a normal offseason, trading him would sound reckless.
This is not a normal offseason.
The Thunder just lost to the Spurs. Wembanyama is now the main reference point in the West. He averaged 27.3 points, 10.9 rebounds, and 2.7 blocks in the series, and the Thunder did not have a consistent answer. Holmgren’s Game 7 line was the clearest problem: four points, four rebounds, and only two shot attempts. For a max-level big in a closeout game, that is not enough.
That does not mean Holmgren is bad. It means the Thunder have to be honest about the matchup. Wembanyama is not going away. If anything, he is only getting stronger. If the Thunder keep the same core, they are betting that Holmgren can close the gap fast enough to beat him in 2027. That may happen. But it is still a bet.
Giannis Antetokounmpo changes that equation.
According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, a Western Conference executive said Giannis is viewed as a “matchup solution” for Wembanyama and that teams could factor that into his trade value. That is exactly the kind of answer the Thunder should pay attention to. It connects directly to their biggest playoff problem.
Giannis had 27.6 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 5.4 assists on 62.4% from the field this season. Even in a strange Bucks season with injuries and uncertainty, his physical profile is still different from almost everyone else in the league. He gets downhill, lives at the rim, pressures the glass, runs in transition, and gives a team elite defensive size.
The Thunder need that kind of force against the Spurs. Wembanyama can erase drives. He can bother floaters, close space at the rim, and change shot selection before the ball even leaves a player’s hand. Giannis attacks that problem differently. He puts pressure on the body, the rim, and the foul count.
A Gilgeous-Alexander-Giannis-Williams core would be brutal. Gilgeous-Alexander gives elite half-court scoring. Giannis gives rim pressure and Wembanyama resistance. Williams gives wing creation and secondary playmaking. Caruso and Wallace can defend around them. Joe and Wiggins can space. Mitchell and McCain can bring a spark off the bench. That version of the Thunder would be older and more expensive, but it would also be built to win right now.
The salary is difficult, but not impossible if the framework is serious. Giannis is owed $58.5 million in 2026-27 and has a $62.8 million player option for 2027-28. Holmgren is set to make $41.3 million in 2026-27. The Thunder would need more salary and premium assets attached. Dort, Hartenstein if opted in, Wiggins, picks, or other young pieces could be part of a larger structure. The exact package would depend on timing and apron rules.
The main point is not that the Thunder should blindly throw everything at the Bucks. The point is that Holmgren should not be untouchable if Giannis decides he’s interested in joining the Thunder.
That is the harsh shift. The Thunder can love Holmgren and still explore this. They can believe in his future and still admit Giannis gives them a better chance to win the next two titles. Gilgeous-Alexander is not 23. He is in his prime now. The Thunder already won one title, then lost the next year before the Finals. The West is moving fast.
Holmgren may become a better long-term value than Giannis. He may become an All-NBA center. He may close the Wembanyama gap in two years. But the Thunder are not operating on a patient timeline anymore. They have an MVP guard, a loaded asset base, and a direct rival with a generational big.
If the Bucks say no, fine. If Giannis says he wants the Heat or Celtics, fine. But the Thunder have to make the call. The move is too logical to ignore.
4. Package Unproven Players For A Veteran Rotation Player
The Thunder have been excellent at drafting and development. That is why they got here. But the next phase is different. They don’t need to win the asset game anymore. They need to win the 2027 title.
That means some young players should be moved for a veteran who can help immediately. Nikola Topic, Thomas Sorber, and Jaylin Williams are the names that make sense in a package. They all have value. They all can help in different ways. But none of them should be protected if the Thunder can turn them into a proven playoff rotation piece.
Topic is a young guard with passing upside. Sorber is a frontcourt prospect with size and long-term value. Jaylin Williams is a useful big who can pass, space, and play with good feel. Those are not throwaway pieces. That is exactly why they can be used in a deal.
The Thunder should be looking for another Caruso-type addition. A veteran, playoff-tested, defensive, smart, low-usage, and playable in a conference finals game. The Thunder need another player who can enter a tight fourth quarter and not look like the moment is too big.
That was one of the hidden problems against the Spurs. The Thunder had depth, but injuries forced the rotation into spots where the difference between talent and playoff trust became clear. Williams missed Game 7. Mitchell was out with a calf injury. Holmgren was not aggressive enough. Gilgeous-Alexander had to do too much. That is when a veteran wing or forward can change a series.
The target does not have to be a star. In fact, it probably should not be one if the Giannis path is separate. The Thunder need a strong eighth man who can become a fifth man in the right matchup. Someone who can defend bigger wings, make corner threes, rebound, and not need the ball. Someone who can play next to Gilgeous-Alexander without touching the offense. Someone who gives the coaching staff more answers against size.
This is where the Thunder’s depth can become a problem if they hold it too long. Young players need minutes. Veterans need defined roles. Contenders need fewer experiments. Keeping Topic, Sorber, Jaylin Williams, Wallace, McCain, Mitchell, Joe, Wiggins, Caruso, Dort, Hartenstein, Holmgren, Williams, and Gilgeous-Alexander all in the same ecosystem is not realistic. There are not enough playoff minutes.
Some of those names need to become consolidation pieces. Topic, Sorber, and Jaylin Williams are the easiest group to mention because moving them would not touch the top three. It would not remove Wallace. It would not remove McCain. It would not remove Joe. It would turn future depth into present help.
The Thunder can’t make the mistake of valuing every young player like a future starter. That is how deep teams become crowded teams. At some point, the team has to decide which young players fit the title window and which ones are better as trade value.
Wallace fits. McCain can fit because of shooting. Mitchell can fit if healthy because he gives guard pressure. Topic and Sorber may fit later, but later is not the point anymore. Jaylin Williams already fits in some lineups, but he is also replaceable if the return is a more proven playoff forward.
This move is not about giving up on development. It is about choosing the calendar. The Thunder need players who can help beat the Spurs, Knicks, Nuggets, Rockets, Lakers, and Celtics right now. That is the standard.
If that costs three young pieces for one trusted veteran, that is the cost of being a contender.
Final Thoughts
The Thunder don’t need a panic offseason. They need a hard offseason.
The difference is important. Panic means changing everything because one series went wrong. Hard means looking at the roster honestly after losing a Game 7 and making the moves that hurt before the cap sheet gets worse.
Trading Dort would hurt because he has been part of the Thunder’s rise. Declining Hartenstein would hurt because he helped them win 64 games. Putting Holmgren on the table for Giannis would hurt because Holmgren is young, rare, and still growing. Moving Topic, Sorber, and Jaylin Williams would hurt because the Thunder have spent years stacking young talent.
But the Thunder are not in the early stage anymore. They are not trying to prove the rebuild worked. It already worked. They won the 2025 championship. They had the best record in the West again. They reached Game 7 of the conference finals. The standard is higher now.
The Thunder still have one of the best rosters in basketball. That is not the issue. The issue is whether they have the right roster for the next version of the West.
Their four harsh moves should be direct: trade Dort, decline Hartenstein, explore Holmgren for Giannis, and package young pieces for a proven veteran. That is how they turn a painful Game 7 loss into a stronger 2026-27 title push.
