The Utah Jazz weren’t able to retain Walker Kessler in free agency, and he ended up going to the Los Angeles Lakers in a sign-and-trade. However, Utah was able to extract two unprotected first-round picks and two first-round pick swaps. That’s how the Oklahoma City Thunder need to handle the Cason Wallace situation.
Recent rumors have indicated that Wallace would be okay with leaving the Thunder. Not only that, but he is reportedly going to want a massive contract extension that the Thunder may not want to pay – similar to what happened with Kessler and the Jazz. That’s exactly why the Thunder can use the Kessler situation as a blueprint.
If the Wallace situation gets to the point where he hits restricted free agency, the Thunder should find a desperate team and leech as many first-round picks off of them as possible.
Thunder can use Walker Kessler situation as Cason Wallace blueprint
Wallace’s value is undeniable. He’s one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA, and it seems as though he has more of an offensive game than he’s been given the chance to show off in OKC.
In Game 7 of the Western Conference finals, Wallace went on an impressive run that threatened the San Antonio Spurs’ eventual NBA Finals birth. It felt like he could always do more and just needed an opportunity to do so.
So, if he actually does end up entering restricted free agency next summer, it feels as though the right team could offer him an absolute bag to be one of their starting guards, whether at the point guard or shooting guard position.
The Thunder already have an extremely expensive roster, much like the Jazz do right now with the likes of Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. already on the roster.
Because of that, the Thunder may not be willing to give Wallace as much as he will ultimately want. They are already paying Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, and Jalen Williams max contracts. And that’s without even mentioning their other bigger contracts.
Luckily for the Thunder, they now have a blueprint for how to handle the situation. The Jazz found a team that desperately needed Kessler’s services, and they took as many first-round picks as they could.
When Wallace enters the same situation, the Thunder need to identify which team desperately needs a guy like Wallace and try to get as many first-round picks as they can in a sign-and-trade.
They need to get as much value out of Wallace as possible.
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