The Oklahoma City Thunder are heading toward a new look in the opening night lineup of the 2026 NBA season, and one of the biggest questions is who replaces Luguentz Dort after the team traded the seven-year starter.
Cason Wallace is the cleanest defensive fit. Ajay Mitchell makes it a little less straightforward. But if Wallace can bring more offense with him into a starting role, that case gets a lot stronger.
That scoring bump may be the thing that locks him in. Wallace already brings a deep skill set and elite defense; add more points to that package and he starts looking like one of the best young guards in the league. It would also be a major boost if he’s entering a contract year.
"I'm not money-driven. I want to compete; that's the main focus of me," Wallace said in his end-of-season press conference. "So whether I get paid this summer or not, you know, I'm going to get better because that's what I have to do to stay in this league."
Oklahoma City does not need Wallace to turn into a primary scorer, but extra punch never hurts. If he takes another step, the Thunder’s path to a fourth straight No. 1 seed in the West and real NBA Finals contention gets even clearer.
Through three NBA seasons, Wallace has averaged 7.9 points and 2.2 assists per game, and his scoring has climbed every year. The next step is efficiency, especially with a bigger role.
He already showed he can handle more usage when injuries hit the Thunder midway through 2025-26 and he spent time as a higher-choice option. Doing that with regularity alongside Oklahoma City’s All-Star core would make him incredibly valuable.
Wallace said those stretches mattered to him.
"That was fun having the ball and just being able to showcase my game and just do what the team needed me to do to win," Wallace said. "That's what it's all about at the end of the day is just going out there and trying to win, so I look at those clips and think about that."
His offense does not have to define the season for the Thunder, but if he becomes steadier on that end, Oklahoma City’s ceiling rises with him. For a fourth-year defensive guard who may be moving into his first full season as a regular starter, that kind of leap would go a long way.
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It also comes with a prime-time schedule twist that should make the matchup even more watchable. Oklahoma City and Minnesota are set to see plenty of each other, including a Christmas Day meeting that will put the Williams family connection in the national spotlight. The Timberwolves cap maneuver to open room for Jonathan Kuminga only adds to the sense that this is a deal with ripple effects far beyond the immediate box score. [Read more 🡒]