Oklahoma City’s roster was broken down all off-season long. From top to bottom, it’s one of the deepest rosters in the NBA and there are a lot of players deserving of minutes.
While having a deep roster is a big time benefit to the team overall, somebody has to get the short end of the stick on minutes. Most games, you simply can’t play all 15 players on the roster.
That’s one reason Mark Daigneault mixes up the rotation so much, though. Because there are so many players he trusts and so many scenarios he can play them in. Towards the end of the season, the rotation could very well shorten. But for now, it’s all about reps.
“We have a roster, up and down, of players I trust putting in the game,” Daigneault said at practice this week. “We have a roster up and down of players I trust closing games. Playing long minutes in games. That’s one of the benefits of having a deep roster, some continuity.
“And so when I’m playing one person, it’s not an indictment on the people I’m not playing. It’s just what I think is the best decision for the team, and I would relate that to any decision I make with personnel.”
Daigneault tends to play who he trusts. He wants players that are predictable, and predictable means consistent in a lot of scenarios. Daigneault needs to know what to expect every time he puts someone new in the game.
One of the surprising players that has earned the head coach’s trust is Lindy Waters III, who is on a two-way contract. When Waters is active for the Thunder, he usually finds his way onto the floor.
“Lindy in particular is a highly functional system player on both ends of the floor,” Daigneault said. “He’s very predictable and the scoreboard seems to move in the right direction when he’s out there. He’s extremely additive as a mover, a ball mover, a floor spacer, and he does the job defensively. And he has done that consistently over time.
“The thing I respect most about him is you can not play him for two weeks and then put him out there and you know exactly what you’re getting. That’s a testament to his readiness and professionalism.”
Players like Tre Mann, Vasijile Micic and Aleksej Pokusevski are on the other side of having a deep roster. To find the floor, they’ll have to earn the trust of Daigneault in any way possible, just like Waters has.
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