Aleksej Pokusevski was far from a household name among NBA fans, but for a time "Poku" was a favorite of the analytics crowd. The 7-foot forward out of Serbia had shown flashes of potential with the Thunder but also had struggled to stay healthy.
Friday, the Thunder waived Pokusevski. The No. 17 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, he had played in just 10 games for the team this season and with the emergence of Chet Holmgren his role within the franchise had been filled. There was speculation that Poku could get traded at the deadline as the Thunder had moved on, but another team might want him for a low second-round pick.