Sunday afternoon, news broke that the OKC Thunder traded veteran Lu Dort to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for three future second-round picks.
Less than 24 hours later, videos of his presumed successor at the starting shooting guard position, Cason Wallace, grinding during offseason sessions started to surface online.
The soon-to-be fourth-year Thunder guard was seen putting in work at the recent Shane Butler Pro Runs, catching defenders off the dribble with his smooth handles, driving the lane for ferocious one-handed jams at the rim, and creating space off the bounce for clean triples.
Throughout his pro career, Wallace has primarily served as both a backup and defensive specialist. He's only managed to thrive in this particular role, as he just earned All-Defensive honors a season ago and, during the year prior, played a key part in the Thunder taking home their first NBA Championship.
However, when coming into the association as the 10 overall pick back in 2023, the belief by most scouts was that he was a highly promising two-way prospect with real star potential, and even drew comparisons to future Hall of Famers like Jrue Holiday throughout the draft process.
With Dort no longer in front of him, it's believed that Wallace will take over his role as the primary two on the Thunder, which, in turn, should present him with more chances to flaunt his skills on the offensive end.
Clearly, he's putting in the work to capitalize on this new opportunity.
Cason Wallace has flashed his offensive potential with Thunder
As noted, during his time with the Thunder Wallace has primarily been utilized as a defensive weapon, which, in turn, has somewhat overshadowed his talents on the offensive side of the ball.
However, along the way, he's shown more than just glimpses of what he's capable of when given the green light.
Just last season, when serving in a starting capacity, Wallace found himself posting 9.3 points per game with a highly efficient 55.2 true shooting percentage and, when registering 30-plus minutes, he dished out 78 assists compared to just 34 turnovers.
On top of this, he absolutely torched opposing defenses from deep during Oklahoma City's three-round playoff run, where he splashed home on a whopping 48.4 percent of his long-range attempts, the fourth-best mark in the entire association among players who hoisted over 50 attempts from beyond the arc.
With Dort's 7.6 attempts per game now up for grabs, as well as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's reported desire to play off-ball more frequently, expect Wallace to be given a much larger share of offensive responsibilities during the 2026-27 campaign.
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