Can Cason Wallace Make an Impact for the OKC Thunder in Year One?
In his lone year with the Kentucky Wildcats, Cason Wallace slowly worked his way into the lead guard role, eventually taking over as the starting point guard.
Draft No. 10 overall by Oklahoma City, he’ll be entering a similar situation, but this time will have a harder time working into a feature role with superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey already taking up the bulk of the starting guard minutes.
Even more, second-year and Rookie of the Year runner-up Jalen Williams is able to moonlight as a point guard, and OKC added EuroLeague standout Vasilije Micic in the offseason, too.
Suffice to say, Wallace is going to have his work cut out for him to make an impact as a rookie.
Luckily for both OKC and Wallace, his skillset leans heavily towards connectivity.
At 6-foot-4 with a 6-foot-9 wingspan, Wallace offers excellent on and off-ball defense, and should be able to size up to forwards will relative ease. That alone should help him earn minutes on the backend, and could even land him in crunch time as a stalwart against the league’s top stars.
Even more, Wallace is a better shooter than given credit for, and might even be better than a few other Thunder defenders.
Before making the full time move to point guard with Kentucky, Wallace
Shot 46 percent from beyond the arc, playing off other guards well. With multiple backup facilitating point guard options, Wallace may not be a lead on the Thunder, but he’ll certainly see his fair share of shots.
Regardless, Wallace’s talent as a lottery pick in a loaded draft is sure to shine through in some way or another. Making another potentially impactful selection for Oklahoma City.
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