Golden State Warriors make rapid Wiseman decision after Curry injury

The Golden State Warriors have recalled James Wiseman and Ryan Rollins from their G League assignment in Santa Cruz, with the decision coming shortly after confirmation that superstar Stephen Curry will miss several weeks with a left shoulder injury sustained against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday.

It will now be all hands on deck to try and cover for Curry’s loss, along with the ongoing absence of Andrew Wiggins who’ll miss his sixth consecutive game when the Warriors face the 76ers in Philadelphia on Friday.

Both James Wiseman and Ryan Rollins could see increased opportunities for the Golden State Warriors after being recalled from the G League on Thursday.

Whether Steve Kerr and Golden State are ready to embrace a youth movement in Curry’s absence is yet to be seen, but the reasonably positive prognosis for the two-time MVP means the season shouldn’t be simply tossed in for the sake of development. The Warriors will attempt to keep their head above water without their leader, though that’ll be difficult to do given their only two-games into a six-game road-trip and sit below .500 at 14-15.

Working in their favour is the impressive recent performances of both Wiseman and Rollins in the G League. The former number two overall pick has been dominant in recent games, scoring at least 24 points and snatching at least ten rebounds in four of his five games during December. That was capped with a season-high 31 points against the South Bay Lakers on Wednesday.

Wiseman was also briefly recalled for last week’s loss against the Utah Jazz, displaying some positive signs in five short minutes before being sent back to the G League. One suspects he’ll get much more than just one game and five minutes this time around, and both player and franchise will be hoping that his time in the G League may be finished completely.

Rollins missed the game against South Bay through illness, but has been a bright spot for Santa Cruz prior to that. The 20-year-old rookie has averaged 20.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists in ten games this season, also recording his first career triple-double last Friday against the Lakers.

Kerr and the Warriors’ mindset might be best evaluated by whether Rollins is prioritized over two-way player Ty Jerome, with the latter producing a disastrous 13 minutes against the Pacers where Golden State were -20 with him on the floor.

After Rollins’ fellow rookie Patrick Baldwin Jr. was also recalled from the G League earlier in the week, Golden State now have none of their 16 contracted players on G League assignment in Santa Cruz.