Cason Wallace reflects on time with Lu Dort: 'The best on-ball guard defender'

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After falling short of their back-to-back ambitions, the Oklahoma City Thunder went through a passing of the torch this summer. They said goodbye to a handful of longtime role players. The cost-cutting moves have opened the door for others on the roster to take on a larger responsibility.

One of those transitions includes Lu Dort and Cason Wallace. The Thunder traded Dort to the Atlanta Hawks for three future second-round picks. The writing was on the wall all year that his departure was inevitable. At a $17.7 million 2026-27 salary, it made way too much sense — both from a basketball and financial standpoint — to deal him elsewhere.

Now, Dort's departure saved OKC ownership a boatload of money. It also rolled out the red carpet for Wallace to become a full-time starter. The 22-year-old enjoyed a breakout season last year. He was a first-time All-Defense member. He also salvaged his offensive production with a stellar playoff run that saw him shoot an eye-popping 48.4% from 3.

Think it's safe to assume Wallace should take over Dort's starting spot. Heck, he's been a semi-starter in his first three seasons for roughly half of his career games. As the unofficial sixth starter, his name should be written in Sharpie next to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander from here on out.

Appearing on the 'Cousins' podcast with Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter, Wallace reflected on his time with Dort. The two spent three seasons in OKC together. It's all love between the two as they were two-thirds of their three-headed perimeter-defense monster — alongside Alex Caruso.

"Shoutout Lu. In my opinion, the best on-ball guard defender in the league. He’s so solid. He doesn’t gamble too often. He's one of the best," Wallace said. "I’ve learned a lot through Lu. He's one of the best guard defenders in the league for sure. Toughest assignment every night. Easily, it's him."

Cool to see Wallace show Dort love. Even though both players fought for minutes over the years, that healthy competition never turned into beef. While the Thunder are making the sound choice by siding with the 22-year-old as his career trajectory is pointing up, that doesn't take away from what they accomplished together with their 2025 NBA championship.

The Thunder hope Wallace can grow into being their top perimeter defender. All of the tough assignments Dort had will fall to him. He's part of a larger theme from this offseason as OKC is banking on internal development across the board to make up the difference from all of its summer moves.

Cason Wallace: “Shoutout Lu. In my opinion, the best on-ball guard defender in the league. He’s so solid. He doesn’t gamble too often… I’ve learned a lot through Lu.” pic.twitter.com/Lwv4sxcy8V

— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) August 9, 2026

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Cason Wallace reflects on time with Lu Dort: 'The best on-ball guard defender'

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