Chet Holmgren's playoff disappointment makes him perfect Rockets trade target

Chet Holmgren was a massive disappointment for the Thunder in their Western Conference Finals loss against the Spurs, but he should still be on the Rockets wish list for potential trade targets. Although Oklahoma City is unlikely to trade him, his poor display in his most recent series does crack the door open just a tiny bit. But Houston should be willing to overlook some of his struggles against the league's best defender in favor of his positive fit elsewhere.

Holmgren can unlock the Rockets young core

Holmgren's fit in Houston relies on the skills he's shown consistently over his young career outside of the Spurs series. He's been a great 3-and-D big in general, shooting 37% from deep for his career and averaging over 2 blocks per game. This unique skillset could be a perfect missing piece in the Rockets young core alongside their non-shooting cornerstones in Amen Thompson and Alperen Sengun.

Both Thompson and Sengun have glaring flaws, but Holmgren can help fill in the gaps. His shooting from the power forward or center position can make up for the lack of spacing that Thompson provides as a perimeter player. And defensively, Holmgren's fantastic rim protection and ability to erase his teammates' mistakes would go a long way to hiding Sengun's weaknesses.

Despite his most recent struggles, Holmgren often thrives as a connective piece when he isn't forced into a starring role. If the Rockets could acquire him without asking too much from him on offense, he could be the perfect missing piece. Aside from a true star point guard, Holmgren may be able to tie the Rockets offense together like no other player in the league.

Chet is better than his Western Conference Finals showing

Holmgren's struggles against the Spurs were well-documented and he deserves the criticism that he's now receiving. But some of the extenuating factors in the series have been overlooked and paint him in a better light.

For one, the Thunder were largely without Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell - both very important secondary scoring options - for most of the series. Without those two, Holmgren was thrust into a bigger role that he and the Thunder did not expect. Not only did he struggle to score as a second option, but the Thunder also struggled to draw up effective sets for him.

And most importantly, Holmgren went up against an exceptionally bad matchup for him in Victor Wembanyama. Even more than other centers, he struggles against Wemby because Wemby can match all his strengths to an even higher level. But against practically any other team, Holmgren's strengths will show up and make him look like the All-NBA talent that he is.

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