The Golden State Warriors are among the two teams that have consistently stayed in contact with projected top-five pick James Wiseman.
Still having the No. 2 overall pick in their arsenal of assets, the Golden State Warriors are growing increasingly likely to use the pick instead of trading it, something that once seemed like the last possible thing the team was planning.
Now, we’ve seen them workout and interview a plethora of players — one being Memphis star center James Wiseman. Wiseman, after issues surrounding his eligibility with Penny Hardaway’s Memphis Tigers, decided to sit out the remainder of his lone collegiate season.
At that point, he had three games played and had shown easily enough to have analysts excited for what could come in the future. In those three games, Wiseman averaged 19.7 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 3.0 blocks per game on 76.9 percent shooting.
The Warriors, who have one player over 6-foot-10 and little rim protection, have every reason to consider Wiseman, the top center prospect, at No. 2. They’re one of just two teams that have continued their contact with the star center. Charlotte is the other.
James Wiseman ends his interview reiterating the news of it: “It was basically just Golden State and Charlotte who stayed in contact with me the whole time.”
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) November 16, 2020
For Wiseman, that should be enough to give hope that he’ll be a top-three pick. Charlotte currently sits behind Golden State.
For the Warriors, they’ve shown interest in many prospects, one reason many wouldn’t be shocked if they traded back for a player like Tyrese Haliburton. While Wiseman is a game-changing center, he’s not a generational talent like Zion Williamson was.
Wiseman would make a terrific rim-rolling center, but outside of that, his offensive game is still very much unknown. He’s not a shooter, and his back-to-basket game may take some developing as well.
The potential is there for the center, and the interest is there from a team that’s been to five NBA Finals in the past six seasons. While it may shock some, Wiseman is likely very high on the Warriors big board as the Wednesday draft continues to inch closer.