3 Non-star Thunder who must be protected in potential NBA Expansion Draft

The depth that this OKC Thunder team boasts is truly remarkable.

Filled to the brim with established stars like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, rising studs such as Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, and top-flight role players in Alex Caruso, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Isaiah Joe, coach Mark Daigneault has a deep bag at his disposal filled with incredibly competent ballers.

In virtually every scenario, such a collection is viewed as incredibly enviable to have, as this team has a ridiculous number of lineups they could realistically roll with throughout the season that would still likely end up seeing great levels of success.

Perhaps the only situation where this amount of depth could prove to be somewhat troublesome is in the event of a hypothetical NBA Expansion Draft, and, per recent rumblings, the league is strongly considering the idea of holding such an event in the near future to add a couple of new teams into the mix.

Now, according to the latest intel, it appears the earliest an expansion may take place is right ahead of the 2027-28 season, which gives teams ample time to start thinking about who they would be willing to have made available for the taking, and who they would like to use their eight allowed protections on.

For the Thunder, it's more than obvious that Gilgeous-Alexander, J-Dub, and Chet will be labeled as off-limits in the event of a draft, but this would still leave several other protections vacant and ready to be used.

Non-star OKC Thunder who must be protected in NBA Expansion Draft

Aaron Wiggins

Aaron Wiggins may not be a star in the technical sense of the word, but he is without question a star in his particular role on the Thunder.

Through three seasons in the association, the 25-year-old has established himself as a true two-way difference-maker with the Thunder and is coming off a highly productive 2023-24 campaign that, ultimately, earned him a new $47 million, multi-year deal with the club.

A three-level scorer, Wiggins went on to drop 21.2 points per 100 possessions last year while shooting roughly 42 percent from the mid-range, 49 percent from deep, and an incredibly efficient 68 percent at the rim.

On top of his offensive game, the wing has proven to be a solid contributor on the defensive end thanks to his athleticism and length (6-foot-5 with a 6-foot-9 wingspan) and sported a respectable 113 defensive rating last year and swiped away 2.2 steals per 100 possessions.

Having someone of his ilk serving as a high-impact participant while requiring such a low usage rate is incredibly valuable for a title-hopeful squad such as the Thunder, and his age makes him even more of a "must-keep" in any possible expansion draft.

Luguentz Dort

Luguentz Dort wears many different hats for this legitimate championship contender.

Easily the heart and soul of this OKC Thunder defense, the 25-year-old is arguably the most underrated talent on the less glamorous side of the ball the association currently has to offer.

Considering he spent nearly 50 percent of his minutes last season guarding an opposing team's highest-usage player and, while doing so, often held them to below-average outings (ex. Brandon Ingram averaged a mere 14.3 points on 34.5 percent shooting in round one of the playoffs against Dort despite posting 20.8 points on 49.2 percent shooting during the regular season), the fact that he has yet to be named to an All-Defensive team in his five years in the league is truly a travesty.

On top of this, Dort is a continually evolving offensive player who is coming off a year where he cashed in on a career-best 39.4 percent of his long-range attempts on 5.0 attempts per night while averaging 10.9 points a game.

Add all of this to the sheer fact that he's become one of the main leaders and most beloved players within the Thunder locker room, and it's hard to envision a world where Lu Dort departs from Loud City any time soon.

Cason Wallace

Cason Wallace may be the last name mentioned on this list of current non-stars the Thunder must protect in the event of a potential NBA Expansion Draft, but, in reality, he's almost certainly the first player in such a category Presti and co. would mark as off-limits.

Coming off a rather impressive rookie season, the 10 overall pick from last summer's NBA Draft proved himself to be an efficient 3-and-D contributor within Oklahoma City's backcourt rotation right off the bat of his seemingly promising young career.

Despite his inconsistent usage within the offense, Wallace remained ready at all times when on the floor and, in turn, was otherworldly effective as an off-ball weapon, shooting a whopping 50.8 percent on his 124 uncontested 3-point attempts.

Simultaneously, he posted averages of 6.8 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.5 assists on 49.1 percent shooting from the field and 41.9 percent from deep as a whole.

On defense, the All-Rookie Second-Team selectee proved to be as advertised coming out of Kentucky, which especially came in handy during their postseason matchup against the Dallas Mavericks, where, in 19 minutes of defending superstar Kyrie Irving, he held the guard to a mere 34.8 percent shooting and forced him into four turnovers.

Still only 20 years old, Cason Wallace has a ton of upside attached to his game, and, not only should he be a shoo-in to remain in tow beyond a league-wide expansion draft, but he should also be seen as a realistic candidate to take on the starting two-guard position next to superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in this Thunder backcourt in the not-too-distant future.