Since before he could drink a beer, trade scenarios with James Wiseman being traded by the Golden State Warriors have floated around the internet.
Fans have spent an entire season debating the young center’s role on a roster built around three stars in their early thirties and whether or not his timeline matches theirs. But the 2021 NBA Playoffs have shown us one thing above all else: an elite big man is becoming increasingly necessary to have playoff success, especially in the Western Conference.
The 2021 NBA Playoffs gave the Golden State Warriors a glimpse of how valuable James Wiseman could be in the future.
Think about the teams contending right now. The majority of them have an All-Star caliber center as one of their main pieces. Nikola Jokić, Deandre Ayton, Anthony Davis and Rudy Gobert come to mind. Now think about teams who are building for the future. Karl-Anthony Towns, Zion Williamson and Christian Wood are all major players, if not the centerpiece, of the franchises they play for. And that’s just the Western Conference.
This is not just a name recognition thing, either. Statistics from this year’s playoffs back up the idea that attacking and defending the paint is a crucial piece of having playoff success. In games won in these playoffs by the two Finals contenders, Milwaukee and Phoenix, they either outscored or tied their opponents in both rebounding and points in the paint in 24 out of 29 games.
James Wiseman has shown, in flashes, the ability to be that two-way 7-footer for Golden State. Yes, he had a tough rookie year, playing only 39 games with an average -5.4 box plus/minus before going down with a meniscus injury in April. But putting his season into context helps us understand why Wiseman had one of the steepest hills to climb out of all rookies.
He famously had only played 3 college games at the University of Memphis before receiving his suspension from the NCAA, was drafted in a pandemic-ridden offseason where there would be no Summer League and missed the weeklong preseason team minicamp due to contracting COVID-19. Expectations were high for the #2 overall pick, and rightfully so, but the path to meeting those expectations was close to impossible.
I know the idea of packaging Wiseman with the two 2021 first-round picks for a star is an exciting prospect for fans and media to mull over while we wait for real news, but it isn’t plausible. The trade and free agent market are not exactly bursting at the seams with All-Star level talent.
Trade prospects aside, it would be a mistake to give up on James Wiseman this early in his career. He has shown why he was touted as such a great prospect in bits and pieces and just needs time and guidance to put it all together to form a complete game.