James Wiseman should want a trade from the Golden State Warriors

All the trade speculation surrounds what the Golden State Warriors could get in a prospective deal ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline. However, with their futures up in the air over the next 48 hours, we should also evaluate what players themselves may be wishing for.

For Warrior big man James Wiseman, a move away from the franchise may prove an important juncture in his career. Although the team ultimately takes priority, it’s hard not to feel a sense of sympathy for what the 21-year-old is going through.

While he may not have the stature to request a trade, James Wiseman should be secretly hoping the Golden State Warriors move him ahead of the deadline.

From the very beginning Wiseman was put in a highly unusual position — drafted number two overall to a team that had a season wiped out by injuries, but otherwise wanted to remain in championship contention.

Nearly three seasons in and Wiseman has been unable to solidify himself as an NBA player. There’s a number of factors for that — injuries have decimated much of his development and playing time, there’s obvious issues within his own game, and Golden State’s management of him has been questionable.

The last two factors can be addressed by a change of scenery. Is Wiseman going to develop into a reliable NBA player? Either way, we’re not going to find out in the short-term while he remains with Golden State. The longer it goes the more his trade value diminishes, and for Wiseman personally, the dollar value on his next contract isn’t increasing.

NBA players can’t really complain about their financial situation, but if Wiseman looks around at others in his draft class, then the situations are totally different. He split fellow top three picks Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball, two players that are almost certain to receive max extensions off their rookie deal.

Being sent to a rebuilding team would undoubtedly be the best thing for Wiseman’s career — somewhere that can give him a minimum of 25 minutes a night for the remainder of the season. Look at his G League experience in Santa Cruz — Granted it’s much less quality of opposition, but Wiseman was unbridled to simply play. The contrast between the start of that stint and the end was remarkable — early on there was no distinguishing feature to his game, and by the conclusion he was a confident, dominant presence.

Even in the garbage minutes of Monday’s win against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Wiseman showed his post moves and touch around the rim with six points and two rebounds in less than five minutes. He isn’t Kyrie Irving, he’s not going to request a trade publicly and it’s probably not in his personal makeup anyway. Yet by the same token, it’s only natural for him to want to play. Until he does, the seven footer will remain an enigma that everyone is still trying to evaluate.