With the offseason departure of Lu Dort, the OKC Thunder have an open vacancy at their starting shooting guard position.
Though most were expecting Cason Wallace to be the obvious choice for coach Mark Daigneault to look to as a replacement option, since camp opened earlier this week, the headman has been a bit noncommittal about the whole positional situation.
On top of this, all summer long, it has been publicly stressed by both the coaching staff and GM Sam Presti that the Thunder are looking to "reimagine" how they operate as a club.
With this in mind, it makes sense that OKC would be willing to let things play out gradually rather than rush to make decisions with weeks still to go before tip-off to opening night.
As a result, Thunder fans should expect an unofficial battle to take place throughout camp and the preseason for the starting two spot in the rotation, with the primary candidates presumably being Wallace and Ajay Mitchell.
Thunder need to test both Cason Wallace and Ajay Mitchell as starters
If the Thunder were hell-bent on keeping the same kind of rotational formula that has led them to three straight number one seeds in the Western Conference standings, two consecutive Conference Finals appearances, and an NBA Championship, Wallace being named the starting shooting guard would likely already be a done deal.
Considering he's an established All-Defensive talent, boasts a trusty 37.4 percent long-range shooting clip for his career, and served as Dort's direct understudy throughout their three-year tenure together, slotting him in as the primary two would be the most seamless replacement.
However, being the Thunder publicly revealed they're willing to adapt, one could certainly argue that leaves the door open for Mitchell to earn his keep as a first-five player.
It's not as if the soon-to-be third-year talent is a stranger to being thrust into the starting lineup.
Just last season, in fact, he saw 16 starts in the regular season, posting 14.9 points, 3.8 assists, and 3.6 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game on 41.7 percent shooting from the floor, and then seven in the postseason, where he averaged 18.4 points, 4.7 assists, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.0 steals per game.
Throughout this span, the Thunder went a ridiculous 22-1, while Mitchell sported the team's highest plus-minus rating during his stint in the high-stakes postseason.
Clearly, OKC has two quality candidates to fill out the starting backcourt alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander this coming season.
If they want to try and recreate the style of play that came from lineups with Dort in tow, Wallace would undoubtedly be the way to go.
Of course, should they wish to lean more heavily on offensive firepower and try to capitalize on their .956 win percentage from last year, Mitchell is their guy.
During training camp and throughout the preseason, expect the Thunder to do a bit of experimentation with their starting rotations before coming to their ultimate decision on which baller they want to insert at the two.
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