SAN FRANCISCO — The Warriors shut the door on the James Wiseman era Thursday, shipping him to the Detroit Pistons as part of a four-team deal that sent Gary Payton II back to Golden State.
The former No. 2 pick never got into a solid rhythm during his two-plus seasons by the Bay, playing in just 60 games since 2020 before falling out of the rotation this year. During his session with reporters on Monday at Chase Center, Warriors president Bob Myers wished nothing but the best for Wiseman, as the deal was finalized after a hang-up with Payton’s physical.
“On James, tough move to make as far as trading him,” Myers said. “One of the reasons we drafted him is because of who he is. He is a great kid and did everything we asked him to do. On time, worked hard, great attitude whether he was playing or not, G League, back and forth. It was a tough thing to do move someone you like that much as a person. I know that it’s a business, but it goes beyond that.”
Ultimately, it came down to minutes for the 21-year-old Wiseman. The last couple months of his rookie year and entire second season was wiped out due to a torn meniscus and the subsequent recovery. Warriors coach Steve Kerr let him play for 10 games to begin this season before pulling the plug on the experiment, as the 7-footer eventually spent three weeks in Santa Cruz with the G League, before sitting on the end of the Golden State bench.
Veterans Draymond Green and Kevon Looney have been able to stay healthy this season, while Jonathan Kuminga, JaMychal Green and even two-way player Anthony Lamb stood ahead of Wiseman on the depth chart for the frontcourt. The train left the station without Wiseman, as the Warriors didn’t have time to develop him this season.
“We debated it pretty heavily,” Myers said of trading away Wiseman. “Mostly because we believe he can still be a good player. It may just be that his path required more minutes than we were able to give him. It may be that his time is longer than we can wait. But it’s not an indictment of him.”
Though Payton is currently dealing with a core muscle injury, the Warriors wanted a win-now player for this season. They need to improve on defense and Payton can also be a contributor on offense, especially in transition. Unloading Wiseman for Payton will also save the Warriors $7 million this year and $30 million next year in salary and taxes.
Wiseman joins a young Pistons team that is also trying to develop young big men like Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart.
“I hope he does well,” Myers said. “I hope he gets an opportunity to play and I think will more than he was getting with us. Moving was him was something that we did just based on trying to help this team win.”
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