After shaking off some expected rust Thursday night, James Wiseman looked spry in his 18-point, six-rebound performance for the G League Santa Cruz Warriors. It marked the first game action in 11 months for the 2021 No. 2 overall pick, who tore the meniscus in his right knee on April 10 of last year.
The Athletic’s Anthony Slater was in Stockton to see Wiseman’s 2022 game debut and shared the latest with 95.7 The Game’s “Willard & Dibs” Friday. You can listen to the full interview below:
“There’s no more physical hurdles,” Slater told hosts Dan Dibley and Whitey Gleason (filling in for Mark Willard). “I’ve talked to the medical team, I’ve talked to the front office. The moment he was physically cleared for the G League, he’s physically cleared for an NBA game.”
Wiseman brings a couple things to the table that the Warriors don’t have – mainly his 7-foot frame and ability to be a lob threat. Slater said Wiseman’s job will be to dunk, beat his man down the floor on fast breaks and improve his defensive placement and rim protection.
“Even when he comes back to the Warriors, it’s not like he’s going to be playing 30 minutes or having a huge role,” Slater said. “It’ll be very simplified. In big games, he probably won’t even have a role. I think he’s ready for the NBA for what he’s going to do, which is essentially a sparsely used bench player. But I think their preference is, ‘Hey, let’s get him a bunch of minutes.’ Because that’s better than maybe playing 10 minutes.”
Slater said Wiseman’s minutes will be determined over the next few weeks with some “smaller test drives.” His integration could coincide with the return of veteran forward Draymond Green, who is targeting a Monday return. The plan is for Wiseman to spend Friday and Saturday with Santa Cruz’s coaching staff before playing against the G League Ignite at Chase Center Sunday. Wiseman could be on the Warriors roster as soon as Monday, which would give Golden State a 14-game runway with him and Green before the playoffs.
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Slater said he can’t envision Wiseman getting anything more than 10-12 second-unit minutes in a crunch-time playoff game or even an important regular-season contest.
“He’s gonna have a chance to earn a bit more, but I’m just not sure he’s ready for that,” Slater said. “The organization is definitely behind the scenes preaching patience with him. He’s a long-term play, don’t expect him to come back and save the bench, basically. Maybe he can chip in a little bit.”
The returns of Green and Wiseman will also mean a decrease in minutes for other players, like backup big man Nemanja Bjelica.
“Bjelica, regardless of James Wiseman, I think is gonna be nudged out of the rotation with Draymond Green’s return,” Slater said, while also noting that Andre Iguodala (lower back tightness) is expected to return soon. “Draymond Green is about to get a lot of center minutes. … I am much more intrigued by the idea of Wiseman getting some second-unit minutes with Poole, than I am of seeing much more of Bjelica. I think Bjelica’s kinda proven over the last few months that he does not look at all like an NBA playoff rotation player right now.”
