In this continuing series, Thunder Wire assigns three goals to each of the 21 players, per Spotrac, that make up the Oklahoma City Thunder roster.
The Thunder’s season kicks off on Oct. 25 against the Chicago Bulls. After a surprising 40-42 campaign that ended a win shy of the playoffs, OKC enters this year with playoff aspirations.
Buy Thunder TicketsLet’s assign three goals for Cason Wallace, who will start his rookie season not guaranteed of rotation minutes. The Thunder selected him with the No. 10 pick after trading up, which means they think highly of his long-term fit.
Wallace will fight for minutes, but there’s a decent chance he’s a rotation player by the end of the season if everything goes well for him.
Crack the rotation
Looking at the roster right now, Wallace appears to be on the outside looking in when it comes to consistent rotation minutes.
As the season progresses, Wallace will get his chance to be a mainstay in the rotation. If he plays well enough, there’s no reason to think he can’t get consistent minutes off the bench by the end of the year — especially if he quickly establishes himself as one of the best 3-point shooters on the team.
Get All-Rookie Team honors
The Thunder have several rookies who’ll get plenty of award buzz. Chet Holmgren is the headliner. He’ll play his first season after missing all of last year rehabbing a foot injury.
While Wallace likely will not gain any serious traction for Rookie of the Year, making one of the two All-Rookie teams is an achievable goal. If he has a strong finish to his rookie season on a playoff contender, he’ll get plenty of talk for one of the 10 spots.
Embrace the OKC Blue
In all likelihood, Wallace will have OKC Blue stints throughout the season. The Thunder have utilized their G League affiliate to get rookies and sophomores consistent playing time.
That will likely be the case for Wallace, too. When he gets assigned to the Blue, he’ll need to see it as a chance to test his skills against inferior talent instead of a demotion.
Wallace’s time with the Blue could be valuable in the long run; it beats the alternative of sitting on the bench for multiple games and could be a quick confidence booster.
