De'Aaron Fox is getting Chet Holmgren treatment for a completely different reason
Air Alamo · Jahlil Williams · 2026-08-17T16:10:55+00:00 · nguồn gốc
The parallels between San Antonio and Oklahoma City have grown a lot over the years. The homegrown strategies, the stockpiling of future assets, and now the condemnation that De'Aaron Fox and Chet Holmgren receive as a product of their final playoff showings. People are even starting to talk about moving OKC's All-NBA defensive rim protector.
The conversation surrounding the potential exit of these two is somewhat the same, but their situations are completely different. It's fascinating to compare. Both players are all-stars who contributed greatly to their team's postseason runs, but fans of each franchise are split on their long-term value.
Should they be? You decide.
Chet got punked by Victor Wembanyama
Victor Wembanyama has a hold over Chet Holmgren in a way we haven't seen before. I can't remember a single example of a player folding like a lawn chair just about every single time he faces a particular rival. It's happened too often to ignore at this point. That's despite how well he played in the first two rounds of the 2026 playoffs.
Holmgren was a big reason OKC wrapped up both of their opening-round opponents quickly. He showcased his value on both ends of the floor, playing some truly terrific basketball. Then he ran into Wemby and looked like he'd seen a ghost. If this was just a bad matchup against some random guy on the Kings' roster, that'd be one thing. He's not going to see Sacramento in the playoffs.
Wemby will be a consistent problem for them. The Thunder will have to go through Vic for the foreseeable future. Chet can't be scared of him. It's basketball, man. The former Gonzaga standout must find a way to crack that code; otherwise, they'd be right to move him. His play in the matchup has been totally unacceptable, and really, that goes back to before the playoff meeting.
Fox is paying the price for a problem he didn't create
Bad timing and rare circumstances are to blame for the way he's currently viewed by Spurs fans more than anything. Would San Antonio have traded for Swipa had they known they'd land Dylan Harper five months later? And how could anyone have known how talented Harper would be from the beginning?
The number two overall pick was supposed to be good, but he wasn't expected to be this awesome so quickly. If he were just a "normal" rookie, nobody would be calling for Fox to be moved because they'd understand he was playing on a bad ankle. The fact that another young guard, seemingly just as good as him, is on the team for cheap changes things. But none of that is his fault.
The former Sacramento King came to San Antonio with the hopes of helping a team win. He did a pretty good job of that in his first season. His situation is just weird. Chet, on the other hand, got punked. Two very different scenarios, but basically the same result, as so many want to offer them both their walking papers. It can be a cold world in the NBA.