The NBA career of former Golden State Warriors center James Wiseman once again hangs in the balance, with the former second overall pick remarkably waived by the Indiana Pacers on Monday.
According to ESPN's Shams Charania, the Pacers will waive Wiseman in order to create roster space to sign another former Warrior, Mac McClung, to a multi-year contract as the franchise deals with significant injury concerns at the guard position.
James Wiseman's NBA career is now in serious trouble
The move comes just days after Wiseman started for the Pacers on Saturday against the Memphis Grizzlies, with the seven-footer playing 20 minutes and recording four points and four rebounds with little impact in the 128-103 defeat.
Wiseman has otherwise failed to crack Rick Carlisle's rotation during Indiana's other two games, having fallen behind Isaiah Jackson, Jay Huff and Tony Bradley as center options following the stunning free agency departure of Myles Turner.
It's another cruel blow to Wiseman who was just making his return from a devastating torn achilles injury suffered in the season opener last year. The 24-year-old was traded to and waived by the Toronto Raptors in February, before re-signing with the Pacers this offseason on a two-year, $5.7 million contract.
The problem for Wiseman was that only $1 million of that contract was guaranteed, allowing Indiana to make a move like this without significantly impacting their payroll situation so early into the season.
The Pacers plan to waive center James Wiseman to create roster space for McClung, who will sign a non-guaranteed multiyear deal, sources said. Indiana is dealing with several key injuries to their guards and wings to start the season. https://t.co/eMRWVYfbXQ
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 27, 2025
Wiseman has unfortunately fallen victim to the horror injury issues facing the Indiana backcourt, having started in Game 7 of the NBA Finals where Tyrese Haliburton tragically went down with a torn achilles in the opening period.
Backup point guard T.J. McConnell is also out for the moment with a hamstring injury, while starter Andrew Nembhard has been out since suffering a shoulder injury in the season opener against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Just to top things off, Benedict Mathurin and Taleon Peter missed Sunday's loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves with foot and groin injuries respectively.
The addition of McClung gives the Pacers some reinforcement in that area, with the 26-year-old having played with the Warriors in the 2022 Summer League before being part of the franchise's training camp roster where he was subsequently waived without suiting up in a regular season game.
Wiseman now becomes a free agent and will be on the lookout for his next NBA home, having played just 149 career games which included 60 across 2.5 seasons with the Warriors before he was traded at the 2023 mid-season deadline.