The Golden State Warriors brought in a secret weapon to help James Wiseman and their other big men reach their potential. His name is Dejan Milojević. He is one of the team's new assistant coaches. He has a talent for developing centers. He's partly responsible for developing the reigning MVP Nikola Jokic and Los Angeles Clippers Ivan Zubac. Now Milojević will attempt to do the same with Wiseman.
Anthony Slater of The Athletic caught up with the big-man whisperer who will try to help the Warriors:
“I’m not going to try (to turn him into Jokic),” Milojević said. “I’m going to make him James. And it’s not me. It’s the whole organization. Yeah, I’m the guy working with him before and after practice, but we all have a job here, discuss as a team and make decisions as a team. Looney also!”
The Dubs will desperately need Wiseman down the stretch if they want to reach elite status. That's why the Warriors are doing everything possible to get him through rehab properly. The focus is also on getting him the fundamentals he needs to keep him progressing. The plan is to simplify things for him in year two. Last season Wiseman was given responsibilities that rookies typically don't have. This year's goal is different.
“It means a lot more pick-and-roll, him diving to the rim a lot and becoming that vertical threat in pick-and-roll situations,” Kerr said. “It’ll be easier to do. We have better floor-spacing this year. We have a more defined start to our season in terms of our health and our ability to prepare with a summer, with a real training camp. For the team, I’m talking about. So that when he comes back, whenever it is, we can plug him into a couple of simple actions he can get really good with and start from there.”
Wiseman is highly talented for a young center and can do many things, but the Warriors don't need him to do everything well just yet. They need him to do specifics things well, and it's up to Dejan Milojević and the coaching staff to help him.
Check out the latest episode of the Warriors' Multiverse podcast by ClutchPoints.
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