Draymond Green thinks the Oklahoma City Thunder’s defensive answer to the Lu Dort trade may not be Cason Wallace after all.
On a recent episode of The Draymond Green Show, the Warriors star argued that the bigger burden could land on Jalen Williams, not just the guard widely expected to absorb Dort’s minutes. Green said the Thunder are now without “one of their best defenders,” and he believes that changes who gets asked to chase the opponent’s top perimeter threat.
“He's going to have to step up and take on that challenge a lot more than he's had to when Lu Dort was there,” Green said.
Green did praise Wallace’s work on the defensive end, especially around the arc, but he also pointed to the difference in size when Wallace is matched up against bigger players. Wallace is listed at 6-foot-3 and 195 pounds, and Green suggested that frame may make it tougher for him to fully replace Dort’s edge in those kinds of battles.
That’s where Williams comes in. Green called out the longer, stronger J-Dub as a player who could be leaned on more as a perimeter stopper, especially given his own defensive résumé. Williams has already earned All-Defensive recognition, and Green described him as one of the more versatile defenders in the mix when healthy.
The numbers back up that view. Williams has spent four seasons with the Thunder and built a reputation as a real two-way force. Even last season, while dealing with a string of injuries, he still finished with a 106.4 defensive rating and helped hold opponents to 107.6 points per 100 possessions when he was on the floor.
His 2024-25 season showed even more of that range. Williams limited opponents to 44.7 percent shooting, ranked fourth in the league in defensive win shares, and averaged 2.3 stocks per game. He also spent time guarding multiple spots, from the two all the way to, for part of the year, the primary pivot.
Wallace, for his part, just wrapped up the 2025-26 season on the All-Defensive Second Team and finished sixth in Defensive Player of the Year voting while averaging 1.9 steals per game. But Green’s point was that Williams may be the better fit to absorb the toughest perimeter assignments now that Dort is gone.
With Williams expected to be back at full strength next season, the Thunder are hoping he can return to that All-NBA level on both ends and help cover the defensive ground Dort leaves behind.
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