NBA mock draft roundup ahead of Wednesday's withdrawal deadline

It should be an interesting week for the Kentucky men’s basketball program. When the clock passes midnight on Wednesday, May 31, and turns over to the month of June, all players still contemplating whether or not to keep their names in the 2023 NBA Draft will have to have made a decision.

That means, by Thursday morning, the likes of Oscar Tshiebwe, Chris Livingston, and Antonio Reeves will have figured out the next step in their basketball careers. Will they turn pro, come back to Lexington, or play college ball somewhere else in 2023-24? By the end of the week, the Big Blue Nation should have a much firmer idea of what next season’s roster will look like.

Once those decisions are made, all eyes will turn toward the 2023 NBA Draft, which is set for Thursday, June 22. There will be 58 picks in this year’s draft due to a pair of franchises forfeiting their selections, but you’d be hard-pressed to find Livingston or Reeves mentioned in any of the internet’s most popular mocks. Tshiebwe’s name pops up here and there, but only as a late, late second-round projection at the most promising.

The most likely Kentucky player expected to hear his name called (and it should happen quite early) is freshman guard Cason Wallace, who is drawing plenty of lottery buzz. The 6-foot-4 defensive specialist is practically a shoo-in to go among the top 14 picks in next month’s draft, potentially even as a top 10 pick.

Below are seven respected NBA mock drafts from across the web. Come Thursday, more and more mocks will surface as the pool of draft-eligible players solidifies, but plenty of other popular mocks have been updated in recent days ahead of the withdrawal deadline. For Wallace, there appears to be a consensus building surrounding his stock: he’s going within the top 14 selections.

CBS Sports: No. 11, Orlando Magic
Bleacher Report: No. 12, Oklahoma City Thunder
NBADraft.net: No. 13, Toronto Raptors
Yardbarker: No. 13, Toronto Raptors
USAToday: No. 9, Utah Jazz
Sports Illustrated: No. 12, Oklahoma City Thunder (This mock has Tshiebwe going No. 60 — the final pick — to the Milwaukee Bucks)
Hoops Wire: No. 11, Orlando Magic

Only USA Today has Wallace projected as a top 10 pick out of these mocks, with the rest having him fall between pick Nos. 11-13. The Orlando Magic (No. 11), Oklahoma City Thunder (No. 12), and Toronto Raptors (No. 13) would all be solid landing spots for the former UK guard. Orlando is building around reigning Rookie of the Year, Paolo Banchero, and is littered with young and talented prospects around him. Wallace could help fill the biggest missing gap of a true lead guard for the Magic.

Oklahoma City is centering its future around First-Team All-NBA member Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (a player Wallace tries to emulate on the floor) and the franchise could be a step ahead of the anticipated timeline. In OKC, Wallace would likely receive a smaller role than in Orlando but would be offered the time to learn behind an All-Star floor general. As for Toronto, the Raptors (currently without a head coach), could desperately use a young guard to fill out the backcourt behind Fred VanVleet and Gary Trent Jr. Like the Thunder, there is already some structure built in Toronto, which would help Wallace ease into a major role.

Personally (and this is obviously not biased in any way at all), I wouldn’t be shocked to see Wallace leapfrog some of these projections. Outside of the top 5-6 prospects, you could argue he is the more NBA-ready of the next tier of players. It would be more shocking, in my non-professional opinion, to see him fall outside of the lottery than jump into the top nine.

The Magic also have the No. 6 overall pick, which they could spend on Wallace instead of waiting until No. 11, while the Washington Wizards at No. 8 are in need at just about every position, but especially at point guard. Wallace’s floor is very high with a tall enough ceiling that he would be worth taking a chance on earlier in the lottery.

There’s been a recent trend of Kentucky guards falling in the NBA Draft only to make those who passed on them look foolish sooner rather than later. Will a handful of franchises make the same mistake again this year?