James Wiseman Assigned to Santa Cruz
As mentioned earlier, it looks like Warriors center James Wiseman will be making his return to the NBA court soon. Earlier today, the Warriors announced that Wiseman will be assigned to the Santa Cruz Warriors, Golden State’s G-League affiliate, presumably to run practices with them and maybe play in some rehab games later in the process.
Wiseman has recently been participating in full scrimmages, with his knee looking solid and his game looking more polished than his rookie year. He’s been catching lobs, running the floor, and it seems like the biggest question is about his conditioning. As the former 2nd-overall pick is set to spend some time in G-League practices or perhaps games when the Warriors are on the road, it’s probable that this ramp-up is just to get his legs back under him.
Big Jim played in 39 games last season, putting up averages of 11.5 points per game and 5.8 rebounds per game in just over 20 minutes a contest. A lot of Warriors fans have been less-than-optimistic with Wiseman’s play, having expected him to be a Lamelo Ball-esque piece which would push the Warriors immediately back into title contention.
The expectations for his return have been more properly-tempered due to him missing time, and the clamoring for the Dubs to pick up a center via the free agent market bolstered by the buy-outs largely ignored because the team is literally getting one for free. Wiseman has been putting in a lot of work, showing increased maturity with the goal of “simplifying his game” as he’s stated in some of his media availability.
James figures to add vertical spacing and provide a big body for screens on the offensive end, the latter being something only Kevon Looney and Draymond Green (currently sidelined) provide, and the former being something the Warriors don’t really have at all. With the dynamic playmaking the team currently fields, an easy target for lobs or other interior finishes should add a whole new wrinkle to Steve Kerr’s schemes
The saga surrounding Wiseman’s return to the court has been a long one, including extended periods of radio silence and an arthroscopic surgery to clean up some scar tissue that had built up as a result of his meniscus surgery in April. Looks like everything is finally getting back to normal, and maybe he’ll return even before Draymond Green does.
(Photo credit: ESPN)