With Lu Dort now in Atlanta, there's a vacancy in the starting lineup for the OKC Thunder that desperately needs filling heading into 2026-27.
Currently on the roster are a number of highly qualified, capable, and deserving options to have serve as the club's new starting shooting guard. With this, there should be no doubt that a positional battle will be held during training camp.
However, though guys like Ajay Mitchell and Jared McCain are certainly more-than-worthy candidates, if the decision were up to Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace should almost certainly be his preferred choice.
This belief genuinely comes down to one crucial factor: J-Dub wouldn't have to be the main point-of-attack defender if Wallace were slotted into the first five lineup alongside him.
Cason Wallace, not Jalen Williams, should be primary Thunder defender
Now, this is not to say Williams isn't capable of taking on such a role. In fact, it's quite the opposite.
One could easily argue the 25-year-old is OKC's most versatile defensive weapon, especially after showing the masses that he's not only capable of squaring off against other wings at an All-Defensive level but also centers during his stint as the Thunder's primary pivot in the early stages of the 2024-25 season.
That said, just because he can be the defensive anchor out on the perimeter for the Thunder doesn't mean he should be.
When this team is at full strength and firing on all cylinders, Williams has served as the unquestioned number two offensive option behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, averaging 19.7 points on 50.5 percent shooting from the floor and 38.0 percent shooting from deep over the last three seasons.
His services on this end were dearly missed during this past, injury-ravaged season of his, especially during the late stages of their ill-fated playoff run when seemingly no one other than SGA could get any semblance of something going in the scoring department to help them against the eventual Western Conference Champion Spurs.
The goal heading into this year's campaign should be to keep Williams as healthy and spry as possible. Thrusting him into the focal point role on defense while also expecting him to tap back into his elite offensive production in what is hoped to be his comeback to stardom season is far from a strategic move.
Because of this, going with the All-Defensive talents of Wallace, who has spent the past three seasons learning from Lu Dort as his understudy, seems to be the most ideal approach to not only getting J-Dub back to his pre-injury form, but also the Thunder reverting to the kind of unit that won them an NBA Championship just two seasons ago.
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