3 Things to watch in Las Vegas for OKC Thunder Summer League
Earlier on Thursday afternoon the OKC Thunder put out a press release announcing that the acquisitions of both Davis Bertans and Cason Wallace were finally official. The draft night trade was put on hold for a variety of cap reasons, but all that matters is Cason Wallace is finally ready for his first taste of the OKC Thunder action in Las Vegas.
Wallace had to watch from the sidelines for the first three OKC Thunder Summer League games as he waited his turn to get on the floor, but he still has many fans excited and anticipating how the former Wildcat will fair in his first outing on an NBA floor.
What will Cason Wallace look like in his first showings for the OKC Thunder?
Whether you want to pronounce his name as KAY-SIN or KAY-SAWN, Wallace’s DE-FENCE is the biggest takeaway I think most Thunder fans will come away with.
Wallace was graded by many NBA experts and analysts as the best perimeter and guard defender in the 2023 NBA draft class. Summer League is traditionally dominated and run by ball-dominant twitchy guards like Tre Mann.
Wallace will have his hands full with all types of guys in that archetype and more as the OKC Thunder matchup with players like Jaden Hardy, Amen Thompson, Benedict Mathurin, Andrew Nembhard, Bilal Coulibaly, Johnny Davis and more.
Wallace will be able to show immediately what he is capable of as a pesky on-ball defender who hounds his man up and down the floor. This is a major step up in competition with many of the guys who Wallace will be defending, but it will also be a great opportunity to put him through a bit of a “trial by fire” guarding some super dynamic and talented scorers.
Offensively I want to see what Wallace will look like as a primary ball handler when Tre Mann is off the floor. Wallace is not a traditional point guard, but he can still bring the ball up the floor and facilitate at a decent level. Let’s see what he looks like passing the ball with guys like Tre Mann, Jared Butler, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren spacing the floor for him.
As for his overall scoring I am not too concerned with the volume of points that he scores, more so the process of how he gets to those shots, the types of shots he takes and how efficiently he is on those shots.
There obviously and rightfully is a long runway for Cason Wallace that will not end after Summer League, but it still will be a fun time seeing what he looks like at the pro level competing on both ends against some high-level/high potential NBA players.