The Oklahoma City Thunder have brought back Luguentz Dort, at least temporarily, by picking up his $17.6 million team option for 2026-27.
Although there was certainly speculation over whether they would outright decline the option, making Dort a free agent, that was never a real possibility. Even if the Thunder are planning to move on from Dort, it always made sense to pick up his option and retrieve assets via trade. There certainly will be enough interest in the veteran guard to make that a possibility.
But now that the option has been picked up, we still have very little clarity on what Dort's future will be. If Oklahoma City wants to get under the second apron, Dort's contract is likely the easiest to move off the roster.
In a vacuum, the Thunder would obviously like to keep Dort. It's hard to overstate what he's meant to this organization during his time here. But if Oklahoma City is planning to shell out a major extension to Cason Wallace this offseason, that could give us a serious clue about Dort's future.
Lu Dort's future with Oklahoma City could hinge on its plans for Cason Wallace
Any conversation surrounding Dort has to start with the drop in production he saw in 2025-26. Across 69 games, Dort averaged just 8.3 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.2 assists while shooting 34.4% from beyond the arc. Dort's primary value comes on the defensive end, but he needs to be offensively viable— especially from the perimeter— in order to justify starting minutes.
Cason Wallace, meanwhile, continued to develop into one of the Thunder's star defenders in his third season in the NBA. While his offensive game is still primarily off-ball, he also showed upside as a ball-handler when he needed to step into a larger role after the All-Star Break. This past season, Wallace averaged 8.6 points and shot 35.1% from the field on a similar workload to Dort.
He'll be eligible for an extension this offseason, and he's likely to command somewhere in the range of $25 million annually.
Ajay Mitchell is a real consideration here as well, as his upside as a ball-handler and a dynamic scorer could eventually line him up for starting minutes even over Wallace. But the reality is that the Thunder have two immediate replacements for Dort in the backcourt.
If Oklahoma City decides it doesn't want to shell out that money for Wallace, perhaps it makes sense to keep Dort through this season and try to extend him long-term. But if they're planning on extending Wallace, Dort's long-term role with the organization is unclear.
If Dort is ultimately moved to the bench, and his defensive value isn't being maximized, there's no way to justify not retrieving assets for him while it's still possible.
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