In today's game, the Thunder lost to the Timberwolves with a score of 101-107, and the ranking was also overtaken by the Timberwolves and Nuggets, falling to third in the West, and in this game, Alexander scored 37 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 steals, and Holmgren, as the team's interior pillar, performed extremely badly, shooting 2 of 9 in the whole game, only 4 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists, which also became one of the reasons for the Thunder's loss.
However, the main reason for the Thunder's loss is that the team's interior strength is not particularly outstanding, and there is no player in the Thunder team who can carry the banner of defense and rebounding.
In terms of statistics, the Thunder are averaging 41.2 rebounds per game this season, ranking 27th in the league, and the Thunder's defensive rebounding is very bad, the Thunder's defensive rebounding ability ranks 29th in the league, and the Thunder's opponents can get 15 secondary offensive opportunities per game, which ranks second in the league. That's bad enough for a team that sits in third place in the West, so they desperately need a true rim-protecting center to keep the team rebounding.
With less than two weeks to go until the trade deadline, the Thunder have room to maneuver if they want to make a trade to keep them competitive for the remainder of the '23-'24 season. And there's one player in the trade market who fits the Thunder's current roster plan, and that's Drummond of the Bulls.
Drummond is well positioned to meet the needs of the Thunder at this stage, with Drummond averaging 15.9 minutes per game and grabbing 8.4 rebounds this season. In Vucevic's absence, Drummond was forced to start, averaging 17.4 rebounds per game in his seven starts. It can be seen that Drummond has very good interior ability, he just lacks more tactical position and ball possession.
In addition, Drummond's arrival can greatly reduce the physical burden on Holmgren, who can not only make Holmgren play as the starting No. 4, but also share the defensive pressure of Holmgren on the court. Of course, the Thunder want to think about Holmgren's rising star, so such a trade scenario is not out of the question. Taking a step back, Drummond has one year left on his contract, and even if he doesn't perform as well as the Thunder should, the Thunder could drop him at the end of the season to free up a salary space.
According to ESPN's Bobby Marx, the Thunder could trade Pokusevski as the subject of the trade, plus three second-round picks, in exchange for Drummond from the Bulls. Although it may seem a little unworth paying three second-round picks, you must know that the Thunder still have 21 second-round picks, so such a contribution is not worth mentioning for the Thunder, and it will not even have any impact on them.