Oklahoma City is only a day from preseason basketball, and Cason Wallace may wind up being the Thunder player worth watching most closely.
The reason is simple: his role could look different, and his contract situation hangs over everything. After an offseason full of change around the league, the Thunder still sit among the favorites to win the title, even though they lost Lu Dort, Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe. That leaves some obvious holes in the rotation, but also opens the door for Wallace to step into a bigger spot.
He looks like the natural candidate to replace Dort in the starting five. Wallace is heading into the fourth year of his career, and this preseason could offer an early look at how Oklahoma City plans to use him if that move becomes real.
There’s also the business side. Wallace spent much of the offseason tied to rookie extension talk, but he reached training camp without a deal. The Thunder’s window to avoid restricted free agency with him next season is getting tighter, which gives these exhibition games a little extra weight.
A strong preseason won’t make or break anything on its own, but it could still matter. Wallace has a chance to show the Thunder enough to influence how they approach the extension deadline later this month.
Marc Stein recently reported that Wallace is among the likeliest candidates to get a deal done before that deadline, so a resolution could come soon enough anyway. Even so, he remains one of the most important players on the roster to track during preseason play.
What makes this even more interesting is the basketball fit. Wallace could be on the verge of a real leap if he pairs his already-stellar defense with more on-ball creation and playmaking. That kind of growth would be huge for a team chasing another title.
He already gave Oklahoma City a taste of that upside last season when the Thunder were without their main ball-handlers. Now, with offseason work behind him and a possible new role ahead, the next few games should tell fans plenty about what comes next.
The regular season will put Wallace under a much brighter spotlight, but the preseason should offer the first clues about how the Thunder expect the next 82 to unfold.
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For Oklahoma City, the appeal goes beyond height and draft pedigree. Daigneault pointed to Maras conditioning, defensive presence, mobility, rolling ability and hands as the traits that have made his camp impact harder to ignore, especially for a team that values versatility from its bigs. The real test comes soon enough, with the Thunder set to open preseason play against the New Orleans Pelicans in Tulsa, where Mara will get another chance to show how quickly he can fit into the picture. [Read more 🡒]