Lu Dort's painful Thunder departure could force them to unlock their secret weapon

It's never an easy decision to move on from a player that's seen a team through its rebuilding phase and into its era of success. The Oklahoma City Thunder were forced to do that earlier this week with their trade of Luguentz Dort to the Atlanta Hawks.

By the time the Thunder picked up Dort's $17.6 million team option for 2026-27 this offseason, it seemed relatively clear that he was going to be moved at some point. Oklahoma City's return package of three second-round picks was another sign of the lack of leverage they had this offseason as they attempted to duck below the second apron.

From a business perspective, the Dort trade makes sense. After their trio of deals, the Thunder have reduced their salaries and luxury tax bill by a whopping $317 million.

But from a basketball perspective, the Dort trade opens the door for the rest of the backcourt contributors— like Cason Wallace and Ajay Mitchell— to truly come into their own.

Even if Wallace wins the starting job in 2026-27, though, that won't be the most intriguing storyline springing from this deal. Mitchell has the chance to be a real offensive weapon for the Thunder, and the Dort trade could be what fully unlocks his game as he enters his third NBA season.

Ajay Mitchell might not start, but he'll be a primary weapon for the Thunder regardless in 2026-27

Last season, Mitchell had his breakout as the Thunder's sixth man, even appearing as a starter for stretches of the regular season and the playoffs when injuries decimated Oklahoma City's stars. Across 57 regular season appearances, Mitchell averaged 13.6 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 3.6 assists while shooting 34.7% from beyond the arc.

Compared to his rookie campaign, Mitchell took major strides in his confidence as a ball-handler, working his way around defenders and into the paint with his tight handles and constant aggression. But it felt, at times, like his game was being held back by the sheer amount of offensive options the Thunder had at their disposal.

In the Western Conference Semifinals, those obstacles were erased. With Jalen Williams out, Dort having been almost entirely sidelined offensively, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dealing with almost constant double teams, Mitchell took the reins. He averaged 22.5 points on 56.3% shooting from the field in that series alone. If he had been available for the Western Conference Finals against the San Antonio Spurs, perhaps things would've gone differently.

In 2026-27, there's a real chance that the now-vacant starting spot left behind by Dort goes to Wallace. Wallace can at least replicate much of what Dort provided as a perimeter defender, and he took strides as a downhill offensive player last season.

But even if Mitchell is still the sixth man, head coach Mark Daigneault will be forced to employ him in a greater variety of situations and saddle him with an even greater offensive workload than he saw last season. There will be large stretches of games where Mitchell is paired with Gilgeous-Alexander to provide the team with an offensive burst.

Per Databallr, the pair played 671 minutes together last season. While that was also limited by the time both those players missed, expect that number to increase sharply this season.

The Thunder will also need more reliable perimeter shooting after Dort's departure. Mitchell is fully equipped to provide that not only as an off-ball, catch-and-shoot scorer but also in creating his own shots beyond the arc.

Dort's presence, at the very least, was taking up minutes that could otherwise have been distributed to the backcourt trio of Wallace, Mitchell, and even Jared McCain. If anyone is going to seize the opportunity from a standpoint of production this season, expect it to be Mitchell.,

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This article was originally published on thunderousintentions.com as Lu Dort's painful Thunder departure could force them to unlock their secret weapon.