Earlier this month, it was revealed that James Wiseman needed arthroscopic surgery on his knee. The surgery was to clean up some scar tissue that had developed as a result of him tearing his meniscus late last season. Wiseman’s been on the upward trajectory of recovery since despite his setbacks, and Warriors personnel think that he’s making some solid progress.

Wiseman’s been participating more regularly in practice from time-to-time now, alternating between individual work with Warriors player development coach Dejan Milojevic, who has been lauded for the work he’s done in growing the kid’s game.

This update from Kerr seems promising, as the team has not seen the need to roster another center as a result of both Wiseman’s absence and Draymond Green missing time with a back injury of his own. Currently, the center rotation is primarily Kevon Looney, Nemanja Bjelica, and Otto Porter Jr., three guys who are not the height of traditional centers but have been effective. Even Jonathan Kuminga’s got some run as a small-ball 5 to some solid success.

James Wiseman’s development track so far is eerily similar to another NBA big man who came into the league pretty raw. In fact, Big Jim’s draft profile itself is reminiscent of the center in question, another guy who struggled with early injury issues before turning into a superstar: Joel Embiid.

People are rightfully cautious to compare Wiseman and Embiid’s tracks, especially with the power of hindsight, but with the way the Dubs are taking his return to play carefully and taking all necessary steps, it’s not an unrealistic projection.

There is still no timetable for James Wiseman’s return as he undergoes continuous evaluation, but general manager of the Warriors, Bob Myers, is optimistic he will return at a point in the season where he can get some valuable playing experience before the playoffs where it’s possible he’ll get some significant run as the game slows down.

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