Cason Wallace will enter the final year of his Thunder deal next season, and Paul Pierce thinks he should leave. The OKC Thunder guard made the DPOY top seven as a bench player, and he won’t come cheap. With contracts for Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren shooting the team’s payroll upwards, they might try to persuade Wallace into signing a deal that’s below his potential.

Money doesn’t matter as much to Wallace. His aim is constant improvement and evolution. The Thunder can’t guarantee that, given how competitive their roster is. So if it comes down to choosing between winning more titles with OKC or challenging himself, Pierce wants Wallace to choose the latter. The Truth thinks the 22-year-old has done plenty to prove himself to the Thunder organization. Aside from pushing them into championship standards, Wallace has limited his role to benefit the team.

Pierce would hence like to see OKC attach the right price at the end of his efforts. If not, Paul Pierce advises Cason Wallace to take the James Harden route. “Now, Cason Wallace has won a championship. He’s played his role on a great team. Now, if there’s an opportunity for him to go somewhere else and make more money and get a better role, I’m all for it. Like all this, oh, be all loyal to the team. Well, at the end of the day, when teams aren’t loyal to the players, GMs aren’t loyal like they’re going to ask him to take a pay that isn’t conducive to what he brings to the team,” he said on No Fouls Given.

Wallace’s incredible playoffs will have rivals monitoring his situation. One way or another, Cason Wallace will get paid. But more than money, this decision will dictate his career progression. In three seasons, Wallace has established himself as a defensive mastermind off the bench. He still averaged 2.1 steals in just 25 minutes during the playoffs. During the same time, the former tenth pick shot 48.4% from beyond the arc.

Wallace’s brief stretches handling the ball in the regular season revealed his ambition, and he knows he can do more than defend. In Harden’s case, that belief led to the birth of a scoring architect who went from a Sixth Man of the Year to the MVP of the league. Staying with the Thunder means competing with SGA, Williams, and now Ajay Mitchell to handle the ball. Would Wallace want to spend another year trying to prove himself when he’s fourth on this pecking order?

He could be destined for much more. The question is whether he’ll wait to prove it in OKC.

Money shouldn’t be a problem for the Thunder.

Paul Pierce drew a line when imploring Cason Wallace to explore. He wouldn’t accept the 22-year-old being undervalued by the former champions. Pierce believes Wallace deserves $25M annually, matching Nuggets forward Christian Braun’s current deal. Currently, the Thunder are over the second apron. Before Sam Presti clears house to avoid penalties, Wallace can’t make that kind of money.

But there’s a good chance he gets it if the trade rumors are true. Freeing Hartenstein and Dort ($46M) would let OKC pay Wallace and slot him into Dort’s starting role. The 22-year-old provides the same defensive intensity, carrying a steady knack to produce steals. Moreover, he’s a far better shooter than Dort and much younger. Presti is smart enough to work out which player offers more long-term value.

Naturally, letting Dort walk would open up a starting spot. That would solve the opportunity conundrum the Thunder currently faces. Jalen Williams can play the three, allowing Wallace to play his natural position as a guard. The Thunder’s defensive stalwart has more than just a three-point stroke to his offensive game. Such a transaction might actually help OKC get better, especially when SGA gets targeted with double teams and heavy pressure like against the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals.

There’s no two ways to see this situation. It’s James Harden all over again. But this time, OKC needs to make the right choice and reward Cason Wallace for his exemplary professionalism and elite two-way play.