CasonWallace

Preseason question: Can the Thunder afford to keep Wallace beyond this season? Oklahoma City has become a basketball juggernaut by embracing a procession of replicants along the margins: physical, high-impact defenders who are both interchangeable within their subset and complementary to the stars who anchor the team. But the departure of Lu Dort signaled the start of a new phase in the Thunder’s wonder years: With max contracts locked in for SGA, J-Dub, and Chet, money has to be shed elsewhere. Wallace seems destined to be the Thunder’s next team-building inflection point. In seemingly no time at all, the three-year vet has established himself as one of the most tenacious perimeter defenders in the league and has shot the ball just well enough to be considered a threat. The constraints of the Thunder’s system work to Wallace’s benefit, highlighting his strengths while deemphasizing the weaker areas of his game. 

 

But any glimpses of development in those weaker areas this season will be monitored intently. There are reportedly a number of teams that are willing to pay Wallace handsomely next summer should he make it to restricted free agency—if the reported figure of $30 million annually is legitimate, OKC will have to make some tough cap-balancing decisions. That kind of money would likely result from a ramp-up in both minutes and on-ball usage, which Wallace has largely been shielded from up to this point. If any of that latent upside manifests in any capacity, we may as well consider this season one big audition.