The Thunder have spent years building a roster defined by continuity, but this offseason brought a different reality. Cost-cutting moves pushed out several familiar role players, and Lu Dort’s departure created the opening that matters most right now: a starting spot next to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
At Oklahoma City’s 2026-27 Media Day, Mark Daigneault didn’t offer much help in sorting out who gets that job. And really, that fit the tone. The Thunder coach made it clear he’s not walking into camp with a fixed answer, and he’s not eager to box anyone in before he has to.
“I really don't make any assumptions about that. They have a lot of autonomy in the summer.
The reason they have autonomy is because they come back in shape and they always come back in shape. They come back better," Daigneault said.
"He's come back in shape. He's come back better.
He's worked hard this summer. He's got his head down and focused.
You never know where that can go from and from my standpoint. I feel like if I try to steer that much with him or any other player, you could be putting up a ceiling."
Even with Daigneault refusing to tip his hand, the list of believable candidates is pretty short. Cason Wallace and Ajay Mitchell are the two names that matter here, and both are in position to take on bigger roles after the Thunder trimmed depth to manage the realities of the NBA’s faux hard-cap world.
Wallace is the cleanest fit if Oklahoma City wants to keep the Dort role intact. He’s already been starting in chunks throughout his NBA career, with 114 starts in 227 games - 50.2 percent. He also just put together a breakout season that earned him first-time All-Defensive honors, which only strengthens the case that he can handle the assignment of chasing top perimeter scorers.
Daigneault made it sound like there’s plenty of trust there already.
“He's started a lot of games. So I'm not going to get into any rotation stuff, but he's started Finals games for us," Daigneault said. "He's somebody that I trust as much as anybody."
Wallace, for his part, didn’t sound overly concerned with the label. He said the bigger picture matters more than where his name appears on the lineup card.
"It's not on the front of my mind, honestly," Wallace said. "First, we've got to get out there as a team and once we start gelling together, Mark changes the lineups here and there. Whenever he puts me out there, I'm going to put my best foot forward."
Mitchell is the other real possibility, and his case is different. He offers more offensive upside after a second-year jump that turned him into a 14-point scorer and established him as Oklahoma City’s go-to Sixth Man. If the Thunder decide they want more scoring in that opening group, he’s the obvious alternative.
He didn’t push for the role at Media Day, either.
"My focus is to help this team win. I just want us to be the best team we can be," Mitchell said.
"So it doesn't really matter - starter, coming off the bench. I don't really care."
That’s the sort of answer Oklahoma City wants to hear, especially with both players due contract extensions in the next calendar year. The Thunder are clearly betting on another leap from each of them, whether that comes in the starting five or not.
And that’s really where this stands heading into camp: two strong options, one open spot, and no reason to expect a quick answer. Daigneault suggested the decision won’t be locked in early, which means the Thunder’s fifth starter may remain one of the bigger preseason storylines until the final minutes before Opening Night against the San Antonio Spurs.
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