Golden State Warriors would be foolish to give up on James Wiseman

An underwhelming rookie season has officially come to an end for James Wiseman. The Golden State Warriors big man went through plenty of growing pains this year but it would be a massive mistake to give up on him so soon.

James Wiseman may not have had a successful rookie season but the Golden State Warriors shouldn’t give up on him just yet.

Wiseman’s raw talent was on display throughout the year – but for the most part, all we saw from Wiseman was inexperience and poor performances. He struggled to fit in with the Dubs core and couldn’t remain on the floor for extended periods of time.

Consequently, fans are wondering if Wiseman will be able to develop in time to match the Warriors’ current championship window. With Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green all in the back half of their primes, Wiseman doesn’t have much time to make the leap.

Steve Kerr recently spoke on Wiseman’s rookie season and his future with the team:

"“We just didn’t have a sense of how raw he would be because we only had 3 college games of his. Can we get James up to speed to match the timeline of our 3 core guys? That’s a great question and we don’t know the answer.”Via 95.7 The Game"

Though I would have liked to see Kerr stick up for his rookie a bit more – his concerns are valid. The Warriors weren’t expecting Wiseman to be this far behind in his development. Everyone knew it would take some time to adjust to the NBA after hardly playing in college, but I guess nobody thought the transition would be this difficult for such a gifted athlete.

When asked about Wiseman’s availability on the trading block, Kerr gave his usual ominous answers:

"“How many players are truly untouchable in the NBA? LeBron, Steph, and Giannis? That’s about it. Everyone is tradeable.”"

This isn’t exactly a surprise. The Warriors are in an odd position and trading Wiseman might be their best move to build another contender around Curry before it’s too late. However, it’s much too early to dump Wiseman and Kerr acknowledged his potential:

"Big guys take longer to develop than guards — it’s just a fact…This guy is really talented and he’s a great kid.’ However long it takes, he’s gonna be well worth the pick.”"

Bigs do typically take longer to develop than their counterparts. Take Julius Randle, for example. Three teams and seven seasons into his career – Randle is finally playing at a star level and thriving as a leader in New York.

A similar journey could happen for Wiseman, only we hope he remains in Golden State. His top-notch athleticism will make him an elite player one day if he can round out the rest of his game with shooting and high-IQ decision making.

Wiseman can still be the two-way, rim-running presence the Warriors hoped he would be. A full summer of training will bode well for the 20-year-old. While he’ll inevitably be in trade rumors, the Dubs should give him a bit more time before shipping him away.