**Article posted prior to Cason Wallace's torn labrum report**
The Jalen Williams injury was brutal. Now, he’s likely to miss the remainder of the season. But just as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander mentioned after the game, all the Oklahoma City Thunder can do is push forward. Players are going to have to step up in his absence, and one of those guys is Cason Wallace.
OKC inked Wallace to a shiny new contract extension this summer. It came in at the buzzer, just before the season started: A five-year, $139 million deal. The deal makes sense. Wallace is 22 years old. He’s already an All-Defensive monster. And there were times last year when he showed some real flashes of offensive promise. Now, with Williams set to miss a ton of time, Wallace’s extension is going to be under even more of a microscope.
He’s going to be asked to do a lot more, especially on the offensive side of the ball. And if he doesn’t step up as much as people want him to, some criticism could begin to come down on his new deal.
Cason Wallace needs to step up post-Jalen Williams injury
Wallace also got hurt in the Thunder’s game against the LA Clippers. He (and Jaylin Williams) left the game before Williams went down. But he’ll be back. His ailment wasn’t nearly as severe.
At the time, it seemed like Wallace injured his shoulder, and he was eventually ruled out due to left shoulder soreness. Mark Daigneault didn’t provide a post-game update, but it doesn’t seem like the type of injury that will keep Wallace out for too long.
When Wallace does return, he’s going to have some Williams-sized shoes to fill. They will need a lot more from him, particularly in the scoring column, and that’s where he’ll need to make a leap.
The early returns haven’t been amazing. In the two full games Wallace did play in, he scored six points, then nine points. Obviously, that was with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams, and Chet Holmgren on the court, so that’s important context.
Now that Williams won’t be out there, there will be more shots to go around. And considering Wallace is pretty much a lock to start when he’s healthy, he’ll need to be one of the players who puts the ball in the basket.
More expectations. After his payday, people will be looking to Wallace as one of the next-up guys post-Williams injury.
If he steps up in a big way, the contract will look great. If not, then, since the new deal is still so fresh in people’s minds, the money of it all will be called into question pretty quickly.
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