Wiseman learning from one famous ex-Warrior
James Wiseman’s phone lights up every day with a text from Kevin Durant.
“We talk about the system, how he was able to fit into the system here,” Wiseman said of Durant, whom he met in high school when filming a video for a Durant-backed startup. “He just gave me a lot of advice.”
If anyone knows what it’s like to be a high-profile player tasked with fitting into the Warriors’ unique read-and-react system, it’s Durant, whose three years in Golden State were defined by championship runs and tension. Wiseman, 20, hopes to replicate the way Durant once fit into the Warriors’ ecosystem while also putting his own stamp on it and winning at a high level.
There’s a difference, of course: Durant was a former MVP on a Hall-of-Fame track joining a 73-win team on the heels of a Finals appearance. Wiseman, who the Warriors selected with the second-overall pick in November’s draft, had played all of 69 minutes in college and was being added to a team coming off a 15-win season. But Wiseman, 20, will take whatever guidance comes his way during his up-anddown rookie season.
While rookie in his draft class such as LaMelo Ball, Anthony Edwards and Tyrese Haliburton have thrived, Wiseman after 50 games has yet to find his footing. There were extenuating circumstances: Summer league was canceled because of the pandemic, he missed training camp after registering a positive coronavirus test, missed 11 games with a sprained wrist and then three more because of coronavirus contact tracing.
Since starting and scoring 19 points on opening night, Wiseman has seemingly regressed. He was pulled from the starting lineup after 16 games and, since being re-inserted for developmental purposes, the Warriors have lost six of seven games. After flashing his unique skillset early in the season with transition dribble moves and dunks, it’s been months since his last breathtaking moment.
“This process from the very beginning has been so convoluted, because of COVID, and because of James’s situation in Memphis last year,” head coach Steve Kerr said. “So what we’ve learned is we can’t rush it, we can’t force-feed him. It’s just going to take some time.”
As the Warriors, currently four games below .500, navigate yet another disappointing season, Wiseman’s development has become paramount as they look to next season, when Klay Thompson is expected to return and the team figures to be back in the playoff picture. There are games when Wiseman looks the part, such as in a March 26 loss to the Hawks in which he recorded a careerhigh four blocks and 18 points in 26 minutes. Then there are games when he barely sees the floor, such as Sunday’s loss in Atlanta where he was limited to single stints at the start of each half.
“It can’t be just, ‘Throw him out there for 30 minutes’ because, frankly, he’s not ready for that,” Kerr said. “There are moments when he looks like a future superstar and there are moments he looks like a young rookie who is trying to figure things out. And I think that’s perfectly natural.”
Wiseman believes he’s better than he was to start the season. He recently pulled up film from his third game of the season, when he scored seven points on 3-of-8 shooting and committed four fouls in Chicago, and was shocked by how much more comfortable he feels now than in that game in December.
“I’m way different. Way different,” Wiseman said. “There’s a difference for sure.”
Although the stats don’t show much of an improvement, coaches point to Wiseman’s improved timing on setting screens, communication on the defensive end and laud his receptiveness to coaching. Over these next 22 games, they’ll work with Wiseman to improve his transition defense, staying down on pump fakes and meeting opponents at the rim with timely rotations.
Recently, Wiseman and Stephen Curry practiced their pick-and-roll game, but that progress was interrupted by Curry’s tailbone injury that has sidelined him for five games since March 17. This partnership will be key to Golden State’s future, but so far it hasn’t been effective. When Wiseman and Curry play together, the Warriors are being out-scored by seven points per 100 possessions. However, when Curry is the court with any other center, they are outscoring opponents by 8.7 points per 100 possessions.
This is the central conflict facing the Warriors: Their present and future do not mesh. Flipping those numbers around is easier said than done. Young centers take years to develop into helpful NBA players, and Curry is in the middle of his prime, ready to compete for championships again as soon as next season.
The Warriors could help Wiseman by running more pick-and-roll. Kerr doesn’t need to crumble up the playbook and run them at the rate commensurate of a James Harden-led offense, nor does he need to stubbornly stiff-arm the concept as he has since taking over in 2014. The solution is probably somewhere in the middle.
Like Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett — who years ago arrived in the NBA with about as much experience as Wiseman — Wiseman may leave his rookie struggles behind and blossom into an all-pro. For now, the Warriors are committed to seeing his development through.
“All this stuff takes time and reps and we just have to be patient and keep working with James every day,” Kerr said. “He’s going to get better as he goes.”