This past weekend, The Athletic reported James Wiseman was suffering from swelling in his surgically-repaired knee.
Dub Nation collectively groaned for a couple of reasons. First of all, the latest setback almost assuredly wipes out any chance of seeing Wiseman play for Golden State this season, after he played three rehab games with the G League Santa Cruz Warriors. It also magnifies the franchise’s glaring need at center, one which will likely loom until the end of the season.
Warriors president/general manager Bob Myers joined 95.7 The Game’s “Willard & Dibs” live from Chase Center, the site of this weekend’s West Regional in the NCAA Tournament. Myers discussed his 1995 NCAA title with UCLA but also discussed why the Warriors didn’t secure any more frontcourt depth via trade or buyout. You can hear the full audio in the player above.
“There wasn’t some great big man that was available,” Myers said. “We canvassed and looked around and tried to figure that out. We’re somewhat limited by tradeable assets, because we have four veterans making a good chunk of money, and then [Kevon] Looney and then our rookie scale guys. We don’t have a lot of tradeable salary, which people listening may or may not care about, but salaries have to match in a trade. … I would say there wasn’t an obvious, ‘Here’s a great big guy, let’s go get him.’”
As Myers noted, Steph Curry ($45.8 million), Klay Thompson ($38 million), Andrew Wiggins ($31.6 million) and Draymond Green ($24 million) make a combined $139.4 million this season – and that’s before the luxury tax.
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Myers also said he thought Draymond and James Wiseman would fit into the team’s plans earlier than expected. Green returned on March 14 but is still being held out of back-to-backs, like Wednesday night against the Miami Heat.
“If I’d known that Draymond would be back when he was or that James would suffer setbacks, who knows?” Myers said. “Any team would say that. But at the time, thinking James is coming back, thinking Draymond’s coming back a little bit earlier, probably fit into that a little bit.”
DeMarcus Cousins has been a solid contributor for the Denver Nuggets since signing in February and Robin Lopez stayed on the Orlando Magic, for example. Bigs who are still available include Marc Gasol, who’s playing in Spain’s second tier, and free agent Enes Freedom, who comes with a lot of baggage – so not two top-notch options. Myers said he understands the criticism for not making a move at the trade deadline or through the buyout market.
“That’s what fans do. I get it,” Myers said. “We don’t get everything perfectly right. I never have, never said I did or didn’t. We do the best we can. I don’t think any roster’s perfect. It’s hard to know a roster when we’ve had health problems. That probably falls flat.”
