Thunder trading for Robert Williams III would be incredibly foolish for 2 key reasons

The injuries keep piling up for this OKC Thunder frontcourt, as they received yet another crushing health-related update following Sunday night's loss to the Golden State Warriors.

After a hard fall to the floor in the first quarter on a contest of a driving Andrew Wiggins lay-up, budding star big man Chet Holmgren was helped to the locker room and, soon after, was ruled out for the remainder of the contest.

Hours after the final buzzer sounded on the game, it was revealed that the sophomore suffered a right iliac wing fracture in his right hip and will be sidelined for the next eight to ten weeks.

Not only is this devastating on account of the fact that Holmgren is one of OKC's foundational centerpieces, but it marks yet another blow to the ball club's already depleted center depth, as now all three of their relied-upon options in him, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Jaylin Williams will be found on the sidelines donning street clothes for the foreseeable future.

Naturally, this unfavorable situation the Thunder find themselves in has encouraged fans, pundits, and keyboard warriors alike to play the role of make believe GM, with the mission being to find possible targets Sam Presti and company could pursue to bolster their big man depth.

With these exercises, many different names have been mentioned as potential options, with players ranging from veterans still residing on the free agency market to proven contributors currently on opposing teams.

However, not all suggestions have been rooted in reality, and one popular name floating around that has no business being viewed as a realistic option is Portland Trail Blazers center, Robert Williams III.

Thunder must steer clear of trade for Blazers big Robert Williams III

Throughout his seven-year professional career, Robert Williams III has established himself as a truly impressive center talent, one who can battle on the boards, protect the paint, and run out on fast breaks at an elite level.

On top of this, his per 100 averages are absolutely sensational, as he finds himself sporting a career stat line of 17.6 points, 16.5 rebounds (6.1 offensive), and 4.0 blocks while shooting 72.9 percent from the floor.

Unfortunately, however, while these talking points are certainly inarguable, another, perhaps more noteworthy adjective to describe Williams is injury-prone.

Since coming into the league back in 2018, the big man has played in over 35 games in a season just twice, and only recently made his way back to the hardwood after a 2023-24 campaign where he saw just six games played.

When active, the man known as Timelord is a tremendous two-way contributor who, quite frankly, provides many attributes that this Thunder team could use more of (rim protection, rebounding, menacing paint presence, etc.).

However, the idea of adding another big man to Oklahoma City's arsenal is to bring aboard injury insurance in response to Holmgren's latest ailment as well as for the several other bigs on their depth chart who are currently suffering from health issues themselves.

Why, then, would this front office go and bring on a player with a career injury list longer than a CVS receipt?

Sam Presti has already publicly gone on record and hinted at an unwillingness to pursue any in-season trades due to his belief that they "always bring with them a lot of risk."

Dealing for Williams would go against this sentiment entirely.

On top of this, it's not like the Thunder won't soon be getting frontcourt reinforcements who are already on the payroll.

Monday it was announced that forward Kenrich Williams has been cleared to return to in-game play following a two-month absence that relagated him to the sidelines for all of the preseason and the first 10 games of the regular season.

Soon enough, both Isaiah Hartenstein (who is already running through practice drills, mind you) and Jaylin Williams will also make their way back into the rotation, thus holding down the fort down low during Holmgren's absence.

Sure, for the short-term Robert Williams could be a solid part of this pivot pool, but once all of the current Thunder bigs get medically cleared his arrival would make things more crowded, and it's not like he's an interchangeable talent who could further expand this coaching staff's desire to run positionless lineups that add flexibility -- the 27-year-old is a center and that's it!

Now, this is not to say that adding a traditional five should be avoided by Presti and co. However, coughing up assets for a limited talent, even one as promising as Williams is when healthy, might not be the best course of action.