Golden State Warriors: James Wiseman goes fifth in NBA redraft

Hindsight is 20/20 and the NBA media has wasted no time jumping to the conclusion that James Wiseman was not a great pick for the Golden State Warriors. In a 2020 NBA Redraft by Bleacher Report, the No. 2 overall pick slid to fifth.

BR had the Rookie of the Year, LaMelo Ball, going first with Anthony Edwards going second to the Dubs. Rounding out the top five is Tyrese Haliburton at third and Isaiah Stewart at fourth. Other notable changes include Isaac Okoro at 12 (originally fifth) and Immanuel Quickley at sixth (25th).

Bleacher Report has James Wiseman sliding back all the way to fifth in a 2020 NBA Redraft and the Golden State Warriors selecting Anthony Edwards, instead.

Let’s start with the decision to take Edwards rather than Wiseman. It should be noted that BR’s redraft seems to be more geared towards ranking the rookies based on their first season and future projections — not necessarily factoring in fit for each team.

Nonetheless, the decision to take a high-scoring guard in Edwards with the second pick would have been an interesting one for Golden State. He does not exactly match their needs by any means but it is hard to ignore his final 36 games of the season when he averaged 23.6 points on 45.4 percent shooting. Edwards would be useful to the Dubs as a sixth man and extra scorer to ease Klay Thompson back into the lineup.

As for Wiseman, BR cites his disastrous rookie season as the reason for him dropping in the order. We can not disagree as this specific stat says quite a bit about Wiseman’s first year.

"“He often looked completely lost on both ends of the floor, and he finished with a minus-5.4 BPM that ranks 1,335th among the 1,423 rookie seasons of at least 500 minutes in the three-point era”Via Bleacher Report"

BR notes to Wiseman’s credit that the Warriors are an exceptionally difficult team to thrive with as a rookie on defense. Their read-and-react approach is tough for anyone to learn — let alone a teenager.

Wiseman’s potential remains the reason he is even a top-five pick after one of the worst rookie seasons of his class. He is a towering seven-footer with nimble feet. His upside as a world-wrecker on defense is enough to keep the Warriors invested in his development.

A successful sophomore stint should cause everyone to relax. Wiseman is still the correct pick, in my opinion, and we can expect him to justify his selection within the next few years.