Move over, Chet Holmgren. Cason Wallace could be coming for some of the Most Improved Player buzz that you are already getting.
During a recent episode of The Zach Lowe Show, The Ringer's Zach Lowe dove into a wide-range of candidates he could see contending for MIP honors. Though the Oklahoma City Thunder's 21-year-old guard did not fall into one of the specific categories, he earned a "Keep an eye on this guy" honorable mention.
"Cason Wallace is a really interesting player to me," Lowe explains (at around the 1:16:55 mark). In a year I think where the Thunder are gonna say, ‘We accomplished something. Let’s sort of dip our toes into other waters…’ I think there’s stuff sort of lurking under there, too, that he can do offensively. Defensively, he’s a menace. That’s a guy I’m very interested to see, if he gets a little bit more leash on offense, what more is there.”
Cason Wallace is more than his defense
Those who have not paid close enough attention to Wallace will see this as a reach. It's not.
He has shown he can knock down more threes than he did last year, and just received as many All-Defense points as Brook Lopez and Myles Turner...as a sophomore. That is actually bonkers. He has also flashed, albeit in smaller doses, the ability to make stuff happen when he gets going downhill, as both a scorer and passer.
When it comes to Wallace, talent and potential aren't an issue. Opportunity is a different story.
His case will come down to the latitude and responsibility he's given on offense. That's fine. The Thunder still have room to saddle someone with more playmaking obligations, particularly if the plan is to slowly bring along Nikola Topic.
Whether Wallace gets the chance to be more of an on-ball guy within secondary lineups remains to be seen. Holmgren, Jalen Williams, and Isaiah Hartenstein all loom large in the “When Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is off the floor” discussion. The same can even be said for Ajay Mitchell.
Cason Wallace needs to transcend the Thunder's depth
A handful of people will convince themselves Wallace can seize MIP consideration on the back of defense and better efficiency. Those people will be wrong.
Since the inception of the award in 1985-1986, just four winners have averaged fewer than 30 minutes per game, the most recent of whom was Alan Henderson, all the way back in 1997-98. And while higher-scoring clips aren’t technically a prerequisite, Dyson Daniels was the first recipient to tally fewer than 15 points per game since Boris Diaw took home the honor in 2005-06.
Wallace’s playing time may not be a barrier for entry. He clocked in at 27.6 minutes per game last season. Even if the Thunder are healthier, he has a path toward maintaining or upping that number.
Scoring is a separate matter. At only 8.4 points per game last season, with a usage rate that didn’t even rank in the top 200, Wallace’s volume must undergo a meteoric bump.
Don’t rule it out. Even if the Thunder aren’t inclined to put higher-stakes touches on his shoulders, the separation between them and everybody else can help. No team played more garbage-timey minutes last year. Wallace should have plenty of opportunities to plumb the depths of his offense when OKC puts games out of reach.
And if he gets even the faintest opportunity to break through, not only is he talented enough to do it, but he just might party crash the MIP race in the process.