Right now, the biggest rotational question for this year's OKC Thunder squad is who coach Mark Daigneault will choose between Cason Wallace and Ajay Mitchell to replace Lu Dort in the starting lineup.
Considering he regularly served as the direct understudy to the now-departed guard during their time together in Oklahoma City, most expected Wallace to be the clear choice to succeed him.
However, Mitchell established himself as a game-changing addition to the club's first five unit last season, what with his impressive averages of 14.9 points, 3.8 assists, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game on 41.7 percent shooting from deep and OKC's 22-1 record in both the regular season and playoffs with him utilized as a starter.
All things considered, it seems that no matter which direction coach Daigneault chooses to go, the Thunder will end up with a tremendous talent being inserted into the primary two spot.
The ultimate deciding factor may actually be Jalen Williams and where he's at physically following such an injury-plagued 2025-26 campaign.
Jalen Williams' health status may alter approach to filling Thunder lineup
When fully healthy, Jalen Williams is undoubtedly one of the best two-way players the game has to offer.
From his All-Star, All-NBA, and All-Defensive nods to his stellar production while serving as the second option behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander en route to winning their 2025 championship, J-Dub has proven this sentiment time and again.
Unfortunately, the Thunder learned the hard way last year just how important he is to this club, as his frequent absences and his shell-like performance stemming from offseason wrist surgery directly highlighted what the defending champions lacked compared to the season before -- high-end offensive firepower.
Because of this, Mitchell received ample opportunities to pick up the slack in this area of the game and unofficially served as the number two option in the pecking order for large chunks of the year.
However, now that Williams is presumably entering the new season back at full strength, the idea of adding another offensive-minded talent into the starting lineup may actually be seen as a bit of overkill.
Should the wing's hamstring woes actually be behind him, the expectation should be that the Thunder will be getting back the kind of player who, just two seasons ago, was dropping a whopping 21.6 points and 5.1 assists while shooting 48.4 percent from the floor and 36.5 percent from deep on a nightly basis.
In turn, they wouldn't need Mitchell's offensive oomph as much, opening the door for them to lean more into recreating their previous title-winning rotational formula with an All-Defensive baller like Wallace taking on starting shooting guard duties.
Of course, if Williams still isn't back to 100 percent, Mitchell's shot-creation abilities would come in handy in the primary rotation until he gets to where he needs to be.
In the end, coach Daigneault's decision on choosing his next starting shooting guard will likely come down to where the Thunder star is from a health standpoint.
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