Why Cason Wallace holds the key to the Celtics' perfect future masterplan

With a shocking end to the Thunder’s title defense, the league now awaits the fallout and what Sam Presti will do to save OKC money, as the team’s payroll is about to skyrocket. Everyone is pointing to a big move like sending out Chet Holmgren or Jalen Williams, what they’ll do with their big team options for Isaiah Hartenstein and Lu Dort, or how they can dump their end-of-bench guys to trim the fat. But the player that really intrigues me, and who the Celtics should be drooling over, is Cason Wallace.

Wallace is in an interesting spot. He’s just 22 years old and has proven to be an awesome role player for the Thunder, but he’s about to be eligible for a big extension, and they are going to have a hard time paying him long-term or offering him the role he may desire without blowing up their core.

Thunder facing a major Cason Wallace dilemma

They can let him get to restricted free agency next summer, but then they risk losing him for nothing. The bolder and more shrewd plan may be for Presti to get out in front of it by trading Wallace to load back up on assets before having to pay him.

Wallace was extremely impressive this season, earning second-team All-Defense honors, but in a crowded backcourt with two-time MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, he’s never going to be much more than an off-ball player and defensive ace on a very good Thunder team.

But this season, when SGA was out, Wallace proved that he was capable of doing more, handling lead guard duties and showing potential to be a lot more with a bigger role. That’s on top of his stellar three-point shooting, elite defense, and ability to rise to the moment, as he was instrumental in the title run and was one of their best players in the Game 7 loss to the Spurs.

Wallace fits like a glove in Boston

If the Thunder are looking to get out ahead here, the Celtics are in an ideal spot to add another core piece for their future. Wallace would be a perfect third guard with White and Pritchard, another two-way menace who can bury threes. He’ll have more opportunities to handle the ball, create, and score, and will have the chance to grow into a star and a lead guy, if that’s in the cards.

He’ll bolster a defense that’s already stellar, and he will still have a great chance to compete for championships. In terms of what Boston is looking for, it’s hard to imagine a much more perfectly fitting player being available. The fact that he’s just 22 and his salary for next year is just under $7.5 million is just a bonus.

The Celtics could simply absorb Wallace into a TPE, allowing OKC to shed as much salary as possible in the deal. They could also give back some of their young players on rookie minimums, and of course, they’d load the Thunder up with more future draft picks. The thought of giving OKC more picks is daunting, but for a player like this, it’s worth it.

Wallace would be perfect young building block for Celtics roster

Boston can’t keep drafting guys after the lottery forever, as their roster is already getting crowded with young talent. But Wallace would slide perfectly into the backcourt and allow the Celtics to lean even more into all of their young two-way wings. The team could easily stay under the tax next year to reset the repeater penalties, then sign Wallace to a fair long-term extension next summer that should keep him in green for a long time.

That’s the perfect blend for the Celtics and allows them to get better next season, solve their roster issues, plus stay under the tax and go all in for the next few years around a core of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Cason Wallace, Payton Pritchard, and whoever is left on the team.

Building that out with guys like Neemias Queta, Hugo Gonzalez, Baylor Scheierman, Jordan Walsh, and others sounds like the perfect team to craft for the modern NBA, and the Celtics will be able to keep spending and use what assets they have left to add another big missing piece in a year or two.

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