Mark Daigneault reveals unspoken dangers of coaching such a deep team like Thunder

It goes without saying that this OKC Thunder team is absolutely stacked.

From boasting a roster headlined by stars (both super and budding) like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, and Jalen Williams and filled out with multi-faceted talents such as Alex Caruso, Aaron Wiggins, and Isaiah Hartenstein, Oklahoma City truly has one of the most well-constructed talent pools in the entire association.

In fact, just recently, ESPN's Kendrick Perkins went as far as to say that they are the only team out in the Western Conference "that checks all boxes" from an on-court standpoint.

Yet, even with such an enviable amount of depth, sometimes having too many options can lead to negative outcomes and ripple effects.

At least, that's what coach Mark Daigneault seemed to suggest during a recent post-practice media session on day four of training camp.

Mark Daigneault highlights unspoken danger of roster depth on Thunder

Asked by members of the media about potential experimentations within the offensive scheme, particularly when it comes to having different players get more involved in the play-making department, the Thunder headman acknowledged that while he may have a ton of capable options to work with, utilizing fewer varieties could actually be more beneficial.

"You can make a mistake of going into the season trying to push too many buttons. What ends up happening is, you're guessing, first of all, and then you're overlooking the foundation of the system," Daigneault said.

For the most part, having versatility within a team's arsenal is viewed as a net positive, as it provides the coaching staff an opportunity to concoct numerous lineups and shell out alternating roles to a bevy of different players.

However, in the case of the Thunder, coach Daigneault is stressing patience when it comes to putting players in a position to make an impact as a playmaker.

Though utilizing guys like Cason Wallace and even Chet Holmgren more frequently in this particular aspect of the game may be both exciting in principle and, frankly, plausible in practice, the reigning Coach of the Year is of the philosophy that sticking to their system (i.e. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander running as the de facto playmaker) "and seeing what emerges" is the best course of action... for now.

As training camp progresses, Daigneault suggested that he'll be able to get a better sense of who is ready and able to take a step up and serve as a much-needed creator for others within OKC's offensive game plan, which is an attribute they lost this offseason with the Josh Giddey trade.

However, while they may have an obscene amount of highly versatile and capable contributors who can fill this type of role for the team, the issue with having such an abundance of these types of ballers is that the vetting process is not something that can easily be done in one or two days.

Figuring out what the proper setup is may prove to be a long, arduous, and headache-inducing task for the Thunder coach, but it's one that, if given the proper attention, will prove to be incredibly beneficial for the team in the long run.