Warriors draft bust handed major career lifeline from familiar source

Former Golden State Warriors center James Wiseman has been handed another major career lifeline, having been re-signed to a 10-day contract by the Indiana Pacers on Saturday.

The former second overall pick played just one game for the Pacers at the start of the season before being waived, and with it putting his career into jeopardy after playing just 148 games in his first five years.

James Wiseman handed another career lifeline from the Pacers

Now Wiseman will get another opportunity to make his mark at a Pacers team who he's now signed three seperate contracts with since the 2024 offseason. While the 24-year-old has been underwhelming when on the floor given the expectations placed upon him entering the league, his career has also been decimated by numerous injuries.

Wiseman missed his entire second season due to a knee injury, albeit it did end positively as he and the Warriors won an NBA championship. More recently, after a positive 2024 preseason that provided some optimism of his fit with the Pacers, Wiseman tore his achilles in his first game with the franchise.

The 6'11" center was traded to, then waived by the Toronto Raptors at last season's deadline, before re-signing with the Pacers in the summer only to fail to make it past October. With Indiana 6-21 on the season, 14th in the Eastern Conference and in a reset year before the return of Tyrese Haliburton, perhaps this is the final opportunity for Wiseman to make it at the franchise.

The Pacers are still trying to resolve their long-term solution at the center position, having given reasonable opportunity to the likes of Jay Huff, Isaiah Jackson, Tony Bradley and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl this season.

Huff has been the most impressive in averaging 8.0 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game, but it's still likely that Indiana looks to upgrade via the trade market, having been linked to Utah Jazz big man Walker Kessler among others.

In the meantime Wiseman has to take hold of any playing time he gets, otherwise his career could be over for good without the true redemption story he craved after Golden State traded him to the Detroit Pistons at the 2023 mid-season deadline.

Wiseman appeared in 60 games for the Warriors, including 39 in his rookie year where he averaged 11.5 points per game. That remains his career-high, having shown signs of real talent and potential before injuries unfortunately struck.