Who will replace Lu Dort in the Thunder's starting lineup?

Who will replace Lu Dort in the Thunder's starting lineup? originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Sam Presti saw a golden opportunity. 

The general manager for Oklahoma City sent Lu Dort, who spent seven seasons with the team, to Atlanta in a 3-team trade. 

Dort was on the final year of his contract and Presti knew he wouldn't be able to resign the defensive stalwart. 

Another motivation? He has a trio of players that can replace Dort in the starting lineup. 

Jared McCain, who was traded from Philadelphia, Ajay Mitchell, who broke out as a sophomore, and Cason Wallace, who is a top-tier defender, are all vying for that starting spot. 

Who should OKC go with? Let's look at the options.

Jared McCain 

Jared McCain will always be the one that got away from Philadelphia. The 76ers sent him to OKC midway through last season and McCain quickly showed them it was a mistake. 

The guard from Duke quickly became part of the Thunder rotation. The highlight of his season came in the Western Conference Finals. He scored 24 points in game 3 and 20 points in game 5. The Spurs had shut down Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and McCain became the focal point of the offense.

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The case for McCain? He's the most capable, proven scorer in the group. We'll talk about Ajay Mitchell in a moment, but McCain proved when the lights are brightest he can produce. 

Ajay Mitchell

When OKC entered the 2025-26 season, everyone knew they were a talented team. What wasn't expected was the emergency of Ajay Mitchell. 

The 6-foot-4 guard out of UC Santa Barbara averaged 13.6 points per game and became a secondary ballhandler next to SGA. 

He suffered injuries including one that held him out of most of the postseason but Mitchell's talent can't be denied. 

Mitchell is a little longer than McCain and has shown through the course of a full season he can fit in the offense. Even when SGA struggled with an abdominal strain in February, Mitchell was ready to carry the load. 

He has every argument as McCain to take the starting guard spot. 

Cason Wallace

If the Thunder want to replace Dort with a younger, quicker version of himself, look no further. Wallace, entering his fourth season with OKC, has been instrumental to the team's success. 

He averaged nearly 2 steals a game and shot 35% from 3-point territory. He can guard the best player on the opposing team, spread defenses thin, and play the way Mark Daigneault wants to play. 

Wallace has been so effective off the bench, so the Thunder may keep him put. But with SGA, Chet Holmgren, and Jalen Williams as starters, do they need McCain or Mitchell? Wallace would compliment ball-dominate players as a steady, on-ball pest. 

There are arguments for all three players but it's a good problem to have. Oklahoma City partly traded Dort to give all these talents more opportunity to shine. 

In the end, only one of them will get to be a starter on one of the best teams in basketball.

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