Golden State Warriors: Pros and Cons of trading James Wiseman

Golden State Warriors: Cons of trading James Wiseman

It doesn’t take much searching to find the negatives of trading James Wiseman. Here are the potential impacts of giving up on Wiseman too soon.

Rookie Contract

It is rare for a top-three pick to be traded this early in their career. Aside from being hesitant to trade a player with high potential, it is just difficult to get your worth back for a player on a rookie contract.

The balancing act of potential and salary is a tough one considering Wiseman is only making $8 million a year. At that price tag, who can you realistically target? That is, which players on that small of a contract are worth trading a player like Wiseman for?

The only way to target stars in a Wiseman trade will be by including other players to match salary. This means in addition to losing Wiseman, the Dubs would have to cough up Kelly Oubre Jr. or Andrew Wiggins too.

Wiseman still has star potential

Now it is time to look at Wiseman’s rookie season with a bit more optimism.

The first note to make is Wiseman had a historically low amount of experience under his belt before being drafted. He played only three games in college and missed a summer of development due to COVID. It was just a month and a half between being drafted by the Warriors and making his NBA debut. For this reason, he deserves some slack for a slow start to his career.

Furthermore, Wiseman joined a unique situation on a team with serious playoff hopes. He was on a tight leash, playing only a few minutes each night as the Dubs went all-in on winning each night. This certainly limited his ability to find a rhythm on the floor.

The fact remains, Wiseman is an interesting prospect. He is a true seven-footer with gazelle-like strides and fluid leaping ability. Wiseman is a marvel of an athlete and can become a HIGH impact player on both ends of the floor.

Above all else, Wiseman flashed signs of spacing the floor. He shot 12-of-38 (31 percent) from the 3-point line as a rookie. With his athleticism and potential shooting, think of a mix of Clint Capela, Rudy Gobert and Chris Bosh for his future.

This type of potential is tough to trade away so early. If the Warriors do punt on Wiseman, they better feel confident they are getting a winner in return.