The Thunder have a clear opening in the starting five now that Lu Dort is gone, and Cason Wallace looks like the most natural fit to step into it. With Dort traded to the Atlanta Hawks after seven years as a starter, Oklahoma City’s defensive-minded guard/wing is positioned to inherit the job.
That move comes with a simple expectation: Wallace’s defense is already built for the role, but the Thunder need more from him on the other end. He doesn’t have to become a featured scorer, but if he can shoot it better from deep - or just let it fly more often - it could push OKC’s offense up another level.
Last season, Wallace posted a career-best 8.8 points per game while also adding 2.6 assists and 1.9 steals. He hit 35.1% from 3-point range and did it on a career-high 3.7 attempts per game.
The playoff version of Wallace was even more aggressive. He connected on 48.4% of his 3s while taking 4.1 per game.
That’s the version Oklahoma City would love to see carry into a starting role, especially because Wallace has usually lived in a pretty balanced world between 2s and 3s. If that changes and his 3-point attempt rate climbs next season alongside a starting group that creates plenty of space, the fit gets a lot cleaner.
That space should be there. Playing next to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander means Wallace will get the kind of open looks that are hard to come by for most guards. Dort was the model last season: 71% of his shots came from 3-point range, and 69.8% of those attempts were either open or wide-open.
Wallace’s own shot profile shifted when the games got bigger. In the regular season, 49.3% of his shots were 3-pointers, a mix of self-created chances and catch-and-shoot opportunities off the bench. Once he was asked to spend more time with the starters in the playoffs, that number jumped to 64.6%.
The one number that has to move is his success on clean looks. Wallace made just 33.9% of his wide-open 3s in the 2025-26 regular season, and the Thunder need that to rise if the offense is going to keep humming. For comparison, Dort hit 42.8% on wide-open perimeter attempts during the team’s 2024-25 championship season.
“It is less to think about when you're open, so I would say those are the easier shots,” Wallace said in his end-of-season presser. “You just got to make 'em.”
There’s reason to believe the shot can come around. Wallace knocked down 41.9% from deep as a rookie, though that came on just 2.9 attempts a night.
The Thunder don’t need him to become something he isn’t. They just need him to take more of those shots, and if the accuracy starts to match the volume again, another step forward is right there.
In Other News...
Thunder Just Caught A Strange Break In Their Deadline Plans
The Thunders deadline maneuvering took an unexpected turn when their bid for Spencer Jones ran into a familiar obstacle in Denver. Oklahoma City had put a two-year, $12 million offer sheet on the forward, a move that would have added another piece to the roster while also tightening the teams already delicate cap picture under the NBAs new collective bargaining rules.
Instead, the outcome left OKC in a better place financially than it would have been had Jones landed in town. By not having to absorb the deal, the Thunder preserve a $17.7 million traded player exception from the Lu Dort trade, keeping more room to operate around the second apron and avoiding a much steeper tax bill that would have come with the signing. For a team trying to stay aggressive without boxing itself in, that kind of break matters almost as much as the player it missed out on. [Read more 🡒]
Thunder Just Made A Calculated Wing Move With Huge Western Stakes
The Thunder have made another calculated roster play, this time targeting Denver restricted free agent Spencer Jones with a fully guaranteed two-year, $12 million offer sheet that Jones accepted. It is the kind of move Oklahoma City can afford to explore now, especially after reshaping its books and creating room to address a wing spot that has become thinner.
Jones, an undrafted player who worked his way from a two-way contract into a breakout season with the Nuggets, gives the Thunder a clear fit if Denver decides not to intervene. The Nuggets have until July 26 to match, and that deadline leaves the situation hanging just long enough for Oklahoma City to see whether a useful piece on the wing can be pried loose without further cost. [Read more 🡒]