![\"Mark](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/mark-daignault.jpg\")
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The Oklahoma City Thunder<\/a> are continuing to invest in their young core. The team announced on October 19 that it has exercised its third-year contract option on guard Nikola Topic<\/a> and fourth-year option on guard Cason Wallace<\/a>.<\/p>\n The move locks in both guards through at least the 2026\u201327 season as part of Oklahoma City\u2019s long-term plans under general manager Sam Presti.<\/p>\n Nikola Topic and Cason Wallace Sign Long-Term Deals<\/p>\n Topic, the 12th overall pick in the 2024 NBA<\/a> Draft, has yet to make his Thunder debut after missing the 2024\u201325 season recovering from a left knee injury. Before being drafted, the 6-foot-6 Serbian guard starred for Crvena zvezda in the Adriatic League,\u00a0 averaging 11.1 points, 4.3 assists and 2.4 rebounds in 28.4 minutes in 18 games for Crvena\u202fzvezda in the 2023-24 season<\/p>\n Regarded in draft circles as one of Europe\u2019s most advanced young playmakers, Topic was drafted for his size, vision and pace in the open floor. Oklahoma City has been patient with his development as he completes his rehab after an offseason but a recent testicular surgery was another setback. OKC\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0option decision signals confidence in his future role behind or alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and certainly signals to fans that Topic will be worth the wait when he finally takes the court for OKC.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n Topic did show flashes in the offseason at Summer League, showing his playmaking ability with 7.3 assists per game in three contests. He also averaged 11 points in that period before his knee injury set him back.<\/p>\n Wallace, the Thunder\u2019s 2023 first-round pick out of Kentucky, has become one of the league\u2019s more reliable young perimeter defenders. Across his first two seasons, he has appeared in 150 games (56 starts), averaging 7.5 points, 2.0 assists and 1.31 steals in 23.8 minutes per game. Wallace played a meaningful role in the Thunder\u2019s 2025 NBA championship run \u2014 he averaged 8.1 points, 1.7 steals and 2.3 assists across 20 playoff games, often guarding multiple frontline wings in late regulation minutes. His playoff versatility helped Oklahoma City maintain defensive intensity while Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams<\/a> led the offense.<\/p>\n His defensive tenacity and shooting touch have earned him steady rotation minutes on one of the Western Conference\u2019s deepest rosters. Wallace was named to the NBA\u2019s Rising Stars teams in both 2024 and 2025, and he made the All-Rookie Second Team in 2024.<\/p>\n What It Means for Oklahoma City<\/p>\n The option decisions are routine but significant for a franchise built on long-term player development. The Thunder\u2019s young core \u2014 led by Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams, Chet Holmgren<\/a> and Wallace \u2014 continues to mature together, while Topic represents another layer of depth and flexibility for the backcourt.<\/p>\n Topic\u2019s recovery and reintegration will be one of the key storylines heading into the second half of the season. If healthy, he could slot into the team\u2019s secondary ball-handling and playmaking rotations, easing the workload on Gilgeous-Alexander.<\/p>\n Wallace, meanwhile, remains a crucial two-way piece for head coach Mark Daigneault. His ability to guard multiple positions and knock down perimeter shots fits seamlessly into Oklahoma City\u2019s high-effort, switch-heavy defensive schemes.<\/p>\n The Thunder open the 2025\u201326 season on October 21 against the Houston Rockets<\/a> as the defending NBA champions and one of the favorites to contend again. The pair of option pickups further stabilizes a roster already known for depth, youth, and continuity, three qualities that have defined Oklahoma City\u2019s rise to the top of the NBA.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tErik Anderson<\/a> is an award-winning sports journalist covering the NBA for Heavy.com. Anderson is also the host of The Rip City Pod on The I-5 Corridor, where he dives into the stories and personalities shaping the Portland Trail Blazers. His work has appeared in nationally-recognized outlets including The New York Times, Associated Press , USA Today, and ESPN. More about Erik Anderson<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Thunder\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Oklahoma City Thunder are continuing to invest in their young core. The team announced on October 19…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":225423,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[434],"tags":[49,48,459,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-225422","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-nba","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225422","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=225422"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225422\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/225423"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=225422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=225422"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=225422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}