2023 NBA Draft Team Recap: Oklahoma City Thunder
With the countless draft picks that the Thunder have it might surprise you that they only made one selection in each round of the 2023 NBA Draft. This is probably a good thing considering they already have over 15 players under contract - meaning they will have to waive more than one by the start of the season - with many of them being 25-years-old or younger.
With that singular first round pick, GM Sam Presti selected Cason Wallace out of Kentucky.
The 6-foot-4 freshman guard was one of the best perimeter point of attack defenders in the class along with an ability to space the floor on the offensive end. While consistently being in the lottery conversation Wallace often seemed to be under discussed due to what many deemed a high floor and low ceiling.
Although the high floor narrative seems to be correct, you can’t help but wonder if the low ceiling may again be proven to be wrong around a Kentucky guard who eventually showcases a “hidden” part of his game like many of those that came before him.
As mentioned before, this Thunder roster is packed with quality NBA talent which leaves the immediate path to minutes murky for Wallace but more moves will come before the start of the 2023-2024 season and one would assume some of those would revolve around finding those minutes for a top 10 pick.
The second pick on draft night for the Thunder came in the second round at pick No. 50 and was a much older player.
Keyontae Johnson is a 23-year-old wing out of Kansas State that started his career at Florida before sitting out a season due to a heart condition and then transferring to Manhattan, KS.
The 6-foot-6 senior put up impressive numbers on a Wildcats team that made a run in March Madness that included over 17 points per game on 52-41-72 shooting splits.
Johnson has shown some of that scoring ability in Summer League action - averaging over 13 points per game on 58% from the field - but his ability to stick in the league will come down to whether his 3-point shooting is real or not. It wasn't as promising in summer league.
The Virginia native currently holds one of the three two-way spots for the Thunder and considering the depth of young talent this roster holds it would be easy to see him spending the majority of his time this season with the Oklahoma City Blue.
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