How Cason Wallace Fits with the OKC Thunder
With the Oklahoma City Thunder entering the offseason, it’s officially time to time to switch gears to prospect evaluation mode.
And this year’s impending draft has plenty of players that can help bolster the OKC core.
No matter how unlikely it is Oklahoma City lands certain prospects, the Thunder Fit series will take a look at how they would fit with the current team’s configuration. And with a war chest of assets, you never know how far the front office could move up to acquire a player.
The next prospect up in the series is Kentucky one-and-done Cason Wallace, who wowed with his innate defense and steadily increasing offensive skills.
Here’s how Wallace could fit alongside the rest of the Thunder core:
Offense
Offensively, Wallace is a true tweener between point guard and shooting guard. He started the season out as a catch-and-shoot and 3-point specialist before assuming more and more of the point guard duties and posting a 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
With the Thunder, he could slot in as an off-ball cutter and slasher, but a game manager and settler with the second unit when the primaries are needing a break.
Fit-wise, implementing his overall offensive style could be tricky. He’s certainly not a non-shooter, but his 3-point numbers, which sat above 40 percent earlier in the season, took a huge dip.
In order to thrive alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey and Jalen Williams, he’d have to bolster his outside shooting. But overall, the vision is there.
Defense
Wallace’s selling point is his defense. As a prospect, he’s the best perimeter defender in the entire class. He’s instinctual, anticipatory and has massive care factor on that end of the floor.
There’s lots of overlap between Wallace and current Thunder starter Lu Dort. None of which would be a bad thing and much of which would give the opposition plenty of nightmares.
He could function as a plug-and-play elite defender into the starting lineup, or help to anchor the secondary unit as a point-of-attack defender and point guard.
Wallace’s overall fit has a few question marks, but taking a swing on a high-floor defender is never a bad move.
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