How close are the Oklahoma City Thunder to completing their young core of the future?

The Thunder have built up a group of exciting, young options to build around over the past few drafts. They selected guard Josh Giddey with the No. 6 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, adding a 6-foot-8-inch guard who has averaged 14.9 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game during his two seasons with the Thunder. They would take center Chet Holmgren, forward Jalen Williams and center Jaylin Williams in 2022.

Just last week, the Thunder welcomed two rookies to their roster via the 2023 NBA Draft last week. They would trade the No. 12 pick and a $17 million traded player exception to the Dallas Mavericks for the No. 10 pick and forward Davis Bertans on draft night. They would move on to take former Kansas forward Keyontae Johnson with the No. 50 pick, bringing in a forward with plenty of college experience under his belt.

What was the best decision the Thunder made in the 2023 NBA Draft?

Drafting Cason Wallace

The Thunder took Wallace with the No. 10 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.

Wallace, a former 5-star prospect from Dallas, Texas, initially committed to Kentucky over offers from Tennessee, Texas, Arkansas, Auburn, Baylor, Illinois, Creighton and Oklahoma State, among others, according to 247Sports. He joined a 2022 Kentucky recruiting class that placed sixth in the nation and featured three other enrollees, including now-Milwaukee Bucks guard Chris Livingston.

Wallace earned averages of 11.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists and two assists per game during his lone season with Kentucky. He took fourth place on the team in points per game behind forward Jacob Toppin, guard Antonio Reeves and center Oscar Tshiebwe.

Wallace said he felt comfortable during his workout with the Thunder.

“Once I did my workout, I felt free. You don't feel that at every workout. I just felt comfortable,” Wallace said, via Inside The Thunder. “I played well. I shot the ball well. Me and the staff, me and the front office, everybody made me feel at home. I went back and told my agent, ‘Get me here. This is where I want to be.'”

Thunder general manager Sam Presti had high praise for the 6-foot-4 guard.

“Cason is a quintessential two-way player, somebody who we're really excited to have,” Presti said, via The Rookie Wire. “He plays no-agenda basketball and that is one of the things that really attracted us to him.

“I think his story is a great one because in today's world, in basketball, there are so many people saying: ‘You've got to get more shots. You've got to be more out in front and draw attention to yourself.' This guy got drafted in the top 10 by just being an incredible team player; a guy that makes the right play all of the time.”

Wallace can be a fantastic fit for a team that already ended the 2022-23 regular season with a defensive rating, or “The number of points allowed per 100 possessions by a team,” of 113.2, according to NBA.com. The figure put them at 13th in the NBA, ahead of the Golden State Warriors, Denver Nuggets and Brooklyn Nets. Wallace could play well behind guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who led the Thunder with 31.4 points per game last season.

If he is able to tap into the two-way potential Presti raved about, he could be a reliable option for Oklahoma City for the foreseeable future.