New Thunder trade idea swaps Ousmane Dieng for ideal floor spacing tweener big

After the latest news of Chet Holmgren’s injury, the Oklahoma City Thunder desperately need a boost of energy in their weakened frontcourt.

The rising star sophomore center suffered an iliac wing fracture in his right hip after crashing to the hardwood against the Golden State Warriors on Sunday night. He will be out for the next eight to ten weeks.

The timing of this event couldn’t have been worse for the team, as Oklahoma City already lacks a big man depth due to the injuries of both Jaylin Williams and Isaiah Hartenstein, the team’s high-profile free agent acquisition.

As a result of this string of injuries, coach Mark Daigneault has been forced to roll out an absurdly small lineup with the 6-foot-5 natural wing Jalen Williams slotting in as the primary pivot.

The eye test and the fact that they easily allowed someone like Ivica Zubac to score 22 points against them make it evident that this is not the best course of action moving ahead, even though they defeated the LA Clippers on Monday night with a final score of 134–128 as a result of their experiments.

A deal was proposed that OKC would want to examine, according to a recent Bleacher Report piece. Because of this, a lot of people assume Sam Presti and colleagues would consider hiring a large guy from outside to aid bolster their lackluster array.

Larry Nance Jr. would replace Ousmane Dieng in the Thunder trade proposal.

Parting ways with a recently selected first-round pick is never an easy decision for a team to make, but, when it comes to Ousmane Dieng, what other choice do they have?

Even though he appeared to be improving early in the season, it’s clear that the coaching staff didn’t feel confident enough in him to give him a larger role and longer spurts, despite their obvious need for more size up front.

To compensate for their lack of center depth, the Thunder seem to prefer playing J-Dub in conjunction with the swarming help defense strategy rather than replacing Holmgren with 6-foot-10 Dieng in the meantime.

Due to this less than ideal circumstance, author Dan Favale thinks the Atlanta Hawks could want to think about calling up Oklahoma City in order to relieve some frontcourt pressure and get some advantageous, future-oriented players in exchange.