Warriors rule James Wiseman out for rest of season with knee injury

Warriors center James Wiseman has been ruled out for the rest of the season after undergoing knee surgery Thursday.

Wiseman, who suffered a right meniscal tear in Saturday’s win over the Rockets, is expected to make a full recovery in time for the start of the 2021-22 season. The team will update his progress in September.

Wiseman’s surgery was performed by Dr. Neal Elattrache at the Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-jobe Institute in Los Angeles. Wiseman will begin rehab soon, though it remains unclear exactly how long his recovery process will take.

According to the Warriors, Wiseman’s surgery was to “repair” his torn right meniscus. Players who undergo those types of surgeries tend to face a recovery of four to six months.

“Obviously, we’re very disappointed,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said. “It’s a tough blow to lose the last month of the season and then likely the summer as well. We’re going to do everything we can to help him in his rehab.”

Given that the Warriors have little more than a month left in the regular season, it was no surprise that Wiseman was ruled out for the rest of 202021. The hope within the organization is that he can come back in time to get a good amount of work in during the offseason. It appears highly unlikely, however, that he’ll be able to participate in summer league or train with the Team USA Select Team as he had hoped.

Wiseman — the No. 2 pick in November’s draft — showed flashes of his potential as a rookie. But he struggled to adjust to the speed of the NBA and the complexities of the Warriors’ system, which often made him somewhat of a liability on both ends.

According to Nba.com, Golden State was outscored by 8.8 points per 100 possessions when Wiseman was on the floor — a far cry from the 2.6 points per 100 possessions by which it outscored opponents with him on the bench. Though he finished the season ranked third among rookies in rebounding (5.8 per game), fourth in fieldgoal percentage (51.9), and fifth in scoring (11.5 points per game) and blocks (0.9), he was a long way from being a dominant center.

If Wiseman can open next season ready to be a helpful starting center, he could begin to move past a frustrating rookie season. Injuries and coronavirus-related absences limited him to 39 of the Warriors’ first 54 games before he got injured.

Oubre update: Guard Kelly Oubre Jr. missed his fourth straight game Thursday with a sprained left wrist. He is expected to work out Friday in Boston, and he could be available as soon as Saturday’s game against the Celtics.