2023 NBA Mock Draft 3.0: Blazers and Bulls find new life
player. 38. . G, Kentucky. Orlando Magic. Cason Wallace. 7
The Magic have quietly stacked their roster with quality prospects at every position. Orlando’s frontcourt is notably crowded, but frankly, we should probably be talking just as much about the backcourt. With Markelle Fultz taking firm hold of the starting point guard spot, Cole Anthony and Jalen Suggs — two lottery-level talents — have been relegated to bench roles. Not to mention R.J. Hampton, a once exciting prospect who feels like an afterthought now.
So, Orlando could have to look in the mirror and make some difficult personnel decisions soon. A consolidation trade feels inevitable, if not imminent. When it comes to the 2023 NBA Draft, however, it would be hard to pass on a prospect like Cason Wallace, who could emerge very quickly as the Magic’s best ball-handler.
Wallace is next in the increasingly long line of prodigious Kentucky guards with clearly translatable NBA skill sets. Wallace is a menace at the point of attack and one of the most impactful perimeter defenders in college basketball, using his pterodactyl wingspan and preternatural instincts to wreak havoc in passing lanes.
An efficient shooter who can play a variety of roles offensively, Wallace would fit very well on paper with Orlando’s star wings, Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. He doesn’t make a lot of mistakes and, while he doesn’t have the self-creation juice of some of his lottery contemporaries, Wallace is capable of breaking down the defense and exploiting those breakdowns.