[Gozlan] Cason Wallace’s extension negotiation should be one of the more fascinating of the offseason. His floor projects around 4YR/\(93M (\)23M per year, about 11% of the cap), but comps like Christian Braun and Dyson Daniels could push him upwards of $26M annually.
Wallace’s negotiation should be one of the more fascinating of the offseason because of his role and context within the Thunder and the rest of the league. He comes off the bench for a stacked Thunder team, but he is good enough to likely start for most teams. If he were available, he would be one of the most coveted guards in free agency or on the trade market because of his skill set, especially in a league that is moving away from smaller guards who cannot defend.
There is a wide range of outcomes here. Wallace’s floor is likely the veteran-extension maximum that players like Andrew Nembhard, Herb Jones, and Alex Caruso recently received, which averages about 11 percent of the cap. With expected cap growth, that would translate to roughly four years, $93 million.
His actual range could be higher. Starting-level two-way players Dyson Daniels and Christian Braun both extended last offseason for four years, \(100 million, which averages roughly 15 percent of the cap annually. Wallace could point to those deals and push a bit higher, maybe around \)26 million per year.
The Thunder are facing a real roster crunch because of their rising payroll and the tax bill that comes with it. For now, they could probably trade reserves like Aaron Wiggins or Isaiah Joe to keep the tax penalty in a more reasonable range. If they are going to keep Wallace long term, though, they may eventually need to reduce payroll more meaningfully by moving another starting-level player. That could mean Dort, who has a team option this summer, or Caruso, who would still have two years left on his deal when Wallace’s next contract would presumably begin.