2023 NBA Draft: Oklahoma City Thunder Select Cason Wallace with No. 10 Overall Pick

With their lottery pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, the Thunder landed another potential cornerstone piece.

Entering the 2023 NBA Draft, the Oklahoma City Thunder owned two selections, one at No. 12 overall and the other at No. 50 overall. Thunder GM Sam Presti likely explored all options when it came to leveraging the lottery pick, whether that be trading up, down, or even out.

With the first of its two selections, Oklahoma City actually traded up with the Dallas Mavericks to secure the No. 10 overall pick. In return, the Thunder sent the No. 12 pick to the Mavs and took on the contract of Davis Bertans. With that selection, OKC drafted Cason Wallace out of Kentucky. 

Wallace is a fantastic two-way prospect. Last season at Kentucky, he proved to be one of the best perimeter defenders in the entire country. If the offensive side of the ball continues to come around, he could be a huge piece of the Thunder's roster moving forward. While he struggled from deep late in the season. Wallace has a solid jumper and has the ability to facilitate. 

For the Thunder, this is yet another guard that is entering the rotation and should be in the lineup as a rookie. What this means moving forward is that guys like Lu Dort could be more expendable. Thunder fans will get their first look at Wallace in NBA Summer League next month.

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