All four Kentucky players found great fits in their NBA teams

The dust has finally settled in the wake of the 2023 NBA Draft. After all the speculations, rumors, and abundance of general bizarrities revolving around the four pro-bound Kentucky players this offseason, Cason Wallace, Chris Livingston, Jacob Toppin, and Oscar Tshiebwe have all found NBA homes.

Now that the air has cleared, it is time to take a look and see how good of a fit they are to each of the organizations that signed them. Will any of them make the opening-day roster? If not, who amongst them will actually see the floor this season? And for those who do, what might their role be?

Cason Wallace – Oklahoma City Thunder

Two Kentucky Wildcats in the backcourt of one of the most up-and-coming teams in the league? Sign me up.

No one thought the Thunder would make much noise last season, but they earned a spot in the play-in game and fell just short of clinching the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference. Led by former Kentucky great, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the team in the prairie lands of the midwest has acquired a trough of young talent with Josh Giddey, Jaylin Williams, the other Jalen Williams, and incoming potential superstar, Chet Holmgren.

Wallace likely won’t crack the starting lineup to start the year (most rookies don’t), but his slow, steady, and sure-handedness will serve as an excellent backup to SGA. They could even play him alongside Shai in place of, or in addition to, Josh Giddey.

He will have some competition for that spot with a handful of other young and hungry hopefuls on the roster like Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins, but with a strong Summer League and training camp, a spot in the rotation is there for the taking.

Chris Livingston – Milwaukee Bucks

It must be nice to trip, fall, and land right onto the roster of a title contender. With just a few picks left on Thursday Night, Twitter critics were already blasting off with a series of I-told-you-sos. The “I hope Aaron Bradshaw is watching this” and “Klutch is all talk” crowd were out in heat only for Rich Paul and company to get the last laugh when the Milwaukee Bucks selected Chris Livingston with the 58th and final pick in the draft.

How he was in attendance without Calipari apparently knowing is a whole different story, as is the news that Klutch called every team in the second round and told them not to pick Livingston, but in the end, Chris will be a Buck, and congrats to him.

Like any title contender bringing on a rookie, it will be difficult for Livingston to make an immediate impact, and that is a good thing.

That being said, Kris Middleton declined his $40 million player option with Milwaukee and will become an unrestricted free agent. Middleton fits the mold of the player Livingston envisions himself becoming, so his absence could leave the door open for early playing time than expected. Then again, that $40 million in cap space will likely mean the Bucks will go after a big name or two to replace him.

While fans and coaches seemed intent on Livingston coming back to Kentucky to grow his game, he will now get to do so in a pressure-free situation on a team full of veteran talent. I look for him to be up and down from the G League quite a bit this season, but the goal is long-term success for Livingston. This year is just a stepping stone and he landed in the right pond.

Jacob Toppin – New York Knicks

The lack of draft buzz around Jacob Toppin was eerily quiet. Like someone just passed gas on an airplane but no one says anything about it type of quiet. But it turns out the fellers responsible for this particular peculiarity were the New York Knickerbockers, who almost certainly gave Toppin their word they would sign him in the most likely scenario of him going undrafted. At least, that would explain why he did not work out with many teams. With this big brother, Obi, leveraging what influence he has over the front office, it makes sense.

The Knicks signed Toppin to a two-way deal and the former ‘Cat will likely begin his career in the G League. However, with a literal big brother in the fold, look for Toppin to get all the support he could ever need and play his way into a roster spot by the end of the season.

Jacob’s player profile is essentially a poor man’s Obi, but considering how rich Obi is, that still brings a lot of value. The only type of trees 6’10” athletes who can jump out of the gym and knock down open jumpers grow on is of the family variety, and there is no reason to think Toppin couldn’t join his brother, not to mention Julius Randle and Immanuel Quickley, on the roster at some point this season.

Oscar Tshiebwe – Indiana Pacers

Malcolm Thomas set the NBA record for most rebounds in a Summer League game back in 2013 with 22. That record is in serious jeopardy.

Much like what former Kentucky and current Indiana Pacer center, Isaiah Jackson, did last summer with the blocks record, Oscar Tshiebwe will be a man amongst boys in this year’s Summer League, and I expect him to pick up where he left off in Lexington. That said, a dominant Summer League doesn’t necessarily translate to the NBA.

For Kentucky fans in Lexington hoping they can take the three-hour drive up to Indianapolis to watch the Oscar play as a professional, they may have to put a little extra gas in their tank. It is another hour and a half to Fort Wayne, where the Mad Ants, the Pacers’ G League affiliate, call home.

20 years ago, a player like Tshiebe would have been a first-round pick, but in the era of lanky big men with major hops who can shoot, players like Tshiebwe are a relic of the past. If there were a player to break that stereotype, though, it would definitely be Oscar. It will be hard to keep a guy with his elite rebounding skillset out of the league for too long.

The Pacers have a few promising young talents led by Tyrese Halliburton and Buddy Hield, but their overall roster is depleted of any true stars. Young guys with a high upside and time to grow like Chris Livingston fit well on a title contender, but older guys with a shorter window to prove their NBA worth like Tshiebwe are better suited for a team willing to throw new concepts against the wall and see what sticks.

Oscar could very well be that new concept.