3 OKC Thunder players who can step up in Aleksej Pokusevski’s absence

The OKC Thunder have seen Aleksej Pokusevski suffer another injury, his third in the calendar year. With Pokusevski sidelined for approximately the next six weeks before being re-evaluated, the Oklahoma City Thunder will go through training camp, the preseason, and the start of the regular season without the 21-year-old big man.

Aleksej Pokusevski strung together the best basketball of his career a year ago before his devastating leg injury that, for all purposes, ended his season. While he did return to play in a few tilts, he never rekindled that November magic.

3 OKC Thunder players who can step up in the absence of Aleksej Pokusevski.

Heading into a contract year, many expected Aleksej Pokusevski to not see an extension head his way. It would be wildly team-friendly for the OKC Thunder to extend an offer.

In contrast, if Pokusevski can keep that November pace over a longer stretch, he would earn himself a more significant payday—a classic bet-on-yourself situation.

However, after a summer littered with injuries, it is hard to grasp exactly what is next for Aleksej Pokusevski. Perhaps he and the team are more willing to work out an extremely team-friendly extension to continue to give Pokusevski time to develop.

At just 21 years old, taking a light payday is not the end of the world, with plenty of time to make it up on his next pact. Whereas playing out this contract could lead to even murky waters if the injuries continue to pile up.

Having dealt with a leg injury in late December, a broken arm in July, and now a sprained ankle, Aleksej Pokusevski has seen some bad injury luck. How will Mark Daigneault fill his spot in the rotation to start this season? Let’s dive into three players who can step up and run with this opportunity.