NBA Rumors: Top 3 Landing Spots for Pokuševski


There was only room for one unicorn-type player in Oklahoma City, so with Chet Holmgren's debut this season, the Thunder this week said goodbye to Aleksej Pokuševski. But at 22 years old, it certainly isn't the end of the line for the uniquely talented Serbian. 

He might be thin in frame, but his bag of tricks is full. He's shown it all off at various points in his OKC stay, but in April of 2022, the Thunder gave the 7-foot, 190-pound rail a chance to start at point guard due an assortment of injuries. The results were tantalizing and memorable:  

It was a triple-double for Poku, with 17 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds in a 117-96 OKC victory over the Phoenix Suns. He was blocking shots at one end, shooting threes, throwing no-look passes, and dribbling upcourt at the other end. It was a sight to see, and a glimpse at what he could be. 

Where might the former first-round pick land now as a free agent? We propose three locations:

Toronto Raptors

Here's a team trying to throw everything at the wall in their rebuild, to see what sticks. Why not take a shot on a 7-foot crowd-pleasing project like Poku? Sure, the Raptors have Scottie Barnes as the starter at power forward (assuming that's where Pokuševski would slot in), but after that, they're looking for a nice bench piece at the four (not to mention a backup point guard!).

San Antonio Spurs

How much would we all love to see the 7-foot beanpole Pokuševski provide a Twin Towers 2.0 version for the Spurs next to Victor Wembanyama? Aside from the wild aesthetics of just seeing how it would work, San Antonio is in the early stages of a rebuild, and Poku would be in on the ground floor, and have the advantage of the tutelage of the greatest coach in history, Gregg Popovich. 

Golden State Warriors

The Dubs have been moving towards getting younger, while still keeping their Big 3 together. The Warriors like their "do it all" types, and Poku additionally would provide them with the length at forward that they could use.


 Photo: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports