Warriors’ Steve Kerr Talks About James Wiseman’s Status
James Wiseman’s future with the Golden State Warriors could very well be decided within the next few months.
Ever since November 15, Wiseman has been in the NBA G League with the Santa Cruz Warriors in order to get more reps and work on his game more.
While many viewed this as a demotion at the time for the 2020 second overall pick, the Warriors have been quite successful in recent years using their G League affiliate as a developmental program for some of their young talents to grow, as Jordan Poole is a perfect example of this.
Seeing more time on the floor and showcasing his abilities, James Wiseman has done a lot of good things in the G League, but the Warriors did not give and update on when Wiseman could return to the Warriors last week and on Monday night prior to their game against the Indiana Pacers, Warriors’ head coach Steve Kerr talked about the young center.
“It's been great, just the practice time he's been getting,” Kerr said of Wiseman’s progress in the G League. “He had a really good practice and scrimmage just now and we’ll re-assess here in the next couple days.”
It still remains a mystery as to when James Wiseman will be elevated back to the Golden State Warriors’ roster, but he was able to scrimmage with the Santa Cruz Warriors in San Francisco on Monday in front of the team’s staff.
In seven G League games with Santa Cruz, Wiseman has averaged 15.6 points, 10.1 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game while shooting 62.2 percent from the floor.
Working on his defensive instincts and his overall court awareness were two key points of emphasis the Warriors had on Wiseman’s development when they sent him to the G League last month, but so far, there have been mixed reviews as to if James Wiseman will ever get to the level the Warriors want him at in these two areas.
At this time, there are no indications that Golden State is looking to move on from Wiseman and trade him, but he does have just one more year left on his contract after this season, he will be eligible for a rookie contract extension in the summer and the team could float the idea of moving James Wiseman now ahead of February’s trade deadline while his value is still somewhat high.
A clearer picture will be painted by the organization in regards to Wiseman’s long-term status heading into January, but as of right now, James Wiseman remains in the G League and the team will continue to work with their developmental staff in order to try and get the most out of the second overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.
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