Rumor: OKC Thunder could add backup center at 2026 NBA trade deadline

Over the last month, the Oklahoma City Thunder have gone from being viewed as an indestructible win machine to a team that has some vulnerabilities that the rest of the contenders could go after to knock them out of the playoffs.

Since the Thunder started a historic 24-1, they're a pedestrian 14-10. You can chalk a lot of that up to injuries. Jalen Williams has missed time with wrist surgery and a hamstring strain. Isaiah Hartenstein has missed half the season with a nagging soleus strain.

But perhaps there's more to it. The Thunder's league-best defense has been hit or miss this year. The offense has been even worse at times — especially when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is off the floor. Three losses in their last four games have caused folks to be more open to a deal.

The NBA trade deadline is set for Thursday, Feb. 5. Which means we're less than a week from teams being able to shake up their rosters. Contenders will hope to add some win-now pieces while rebuilding situations hope to add more young talent or draft picks.

According to ESPN's Brian Windhorst, the Thunder could be a team that makes a move. He recently said on 'The Hoop Collective' podcast that they could add a backup center.

"I've actually heard the Oklahoma City Thunder's name in some trade chatter," Windhorst said. "You look at this team and you say, 'Wait a minute — this team had 66 wins or whatever they had last year, champions, when they've been healthy, they've been unstoppable.' Why would the Oklahoma City Thunder's name be out there?"

That's interesting. We'll dive more into those rumors in the coming days, but adding a center would be a little surprising. Most believe OKC's biggest weaknesses are outside shooting and ball-handling. While Hartenstein has dealt with injuries, the Thunder have had a pretty strong frontcourt.

Guess we'll see what happens. Days away from the deadline, this is when you see rumors get amped up to the max.

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Rumor: OKC Thunder could add backup center at 2026 NBA trade deadline