Thunder Trade Up and Select Cason Wallace to Fill Defensive Holes
The pick is in.
With the No. 10 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft the Thunder, via Dallas, selected Cason Wallace. Wallace is a 6-foot-4 guard out of Kentucky and is from just down I-35 in Dallas and now returns to the plains to take the next step up.
Wallace averaged 11.4 points, 4.3 assists and 3.7 rebounds at Kentucky last season. Rumors swirled prior to the draft of what OKC would end up doing in this draft. In the end the Thunder traded up with the Mavericks and selected the Kentucky guard.
Wallace will join fellow Kentucky guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the OKC back court.
Wallace said he models his game after Jimmy Butler, and plays bigger than he is. ESPN’s Jay Bilas said he believes that Wallace is the best on-ball defender in the draft. He enters the league with high praise from analysts around the league as he is a do-it-all guard.
The Thunder are a guard-heavy team and now add a young combo guard who is elite defensively and can score at multiple levels. Wallace will be able to learn alongside SGA and Josh Giddey.
In one season at Kentucky, Wallace had a big impact. He wasn’t their top scorer, but was the key cog to the Wildcats success as the primary ball-handler. He shot 44% from the field last year on a hefty load. Wallace could improve on his 3-point shooting, but does everything else well.
Wallace took over as the main point guard at Kentucky after the Sahvir Wheeler chronicles and he made the moment count.
He’s a talented passer who l makes the players around him better. He mostly plays on the ball, and could be a good second guard behind SGA. His addition immediately improves the Thunder’s defense.
With the starting guard spots loaded Wallace will likely begin his career coming off the bench, but could work into a starter role based on performance and other circumstances that could impact the lineup. It is possible he takes some of Tre Mann’s minutes as the backup point guard as his skill set better fits the OKC style of play as Mann struggled at times.
Overall, the selection of Wallace could pay dividends to the holes in the Thunder’s defense and provides another high ceiling athletic guard.
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