Though it's widely accepted that Cason Wallace will be one of, if not the, most impacted OKC Thunder players by the recent Lu Dort trade, Warriors star Draymond Green finds himself going against the grain by advocating for someone else on the club's roster.
During a recent episode of The Draymond Green Show, Green broke down just how big of a loss the veteran's departure is for Oklahoma City, specifically noting that they're now moving on without "one of their best defenders" in the mix.
While the consensus belief is that Wallace will now slot in and take over all of Dort's duties in the rotation, Green made the case that the onus of defending an opposing team's best perimeter player will now frequently fall on All-Star forward Jalen Williams as a result.
"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.
While Green, a former Defensive Player of the Year recipient, did make sure to heap praise on Wallace's skills on the less glamorous side of the ball, particularly out near the arc, he expressed concern about his ability to replace Dort's intensity when squaring off against bigger opposing players due to his slight 6-foot-3, 195-pound frame.
Because of this, he believes the longer and stronger J-Dub, an All-Defensive honoree himself and, when healthy, one of the most versitile players on the less glamorous side of the ball, could now be leaned on more as a perimeter defensive enforcer.
Jalen Williams showed elite versatility in last healthy Thunder season
While Wallace may have just finished the 2025-26 season on the All-Defensive Second Team and sixth in the running for DPOY, and swiped away a ridiculous 1.9 steals per game, Green's assessment of Williams' versatility on this end of the floor is certainly valid.
Throughout his four seasons with the club, J-Dub has undeniably established himself as a tremendous defensive talent.
Even last season, while dealing with a slew of injuries, he still wrapped up the year with an elite defensive rating of 106.4 while opponents were held within the 95 percentile in points per 100 possessions (107.6) with him on the floor.
However, 2024-25 showcased just how much ground he can cover on the defensive end, as he held opponents to 44.7 percent shooting from the floor and finished fourth in the entire league in defensive win-shares (well ahead of the 22-ranked Dort) and averaged 2.3 stocks per night while regularly slotting in anywhere from the two to, for a chunk of the year, the primary pivot.
With Williams slated to get back to full health next year, the hope is that he can return to his All-NBA two-way style of play and, as Green suggested, help make up for the loss of Dort on the defensive end in ways that Wallace perhaps can't.
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