Getty Big man James Wiseman poses for a photo during the Golden State Warriors' 2021 media day.
Golden State Warriors big man and former No. 2 overall pick James Wiseman played in his third G League game with the Sea Dubs on Tuesday. It didn’t go quite as well as his previous two outings with the developmental club, though.
In 21 minutes of action, Wiseman scored 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting. He also added nine boards and showed off his prowess as a paint protector, swatting three shots. However, he committed six turnovers in the contest and Santa Cruz was minus-12 when he was on the floor.
Still, he averaged 17.3 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in his first games since tearing his right meniscus last April. And the Warriors were nonetheless prompted to make a much-anticipated roster move with the 20-year-old.
Per an announcement from the team on Wednesday, Wiseman has been recalled to Golden State.
When Will Wiseman Make His NBA Debut?
As relayed by Warriors GM Bob Myers during his latest appearance on 95.7 The Game’s The Morning Roast, Wiseman won’t be making his big NBA return on Wednesday when the Dubs play host to the Celtics.
The club’s Sunday night home bout with the Spurs, on the other hand, remains a distinct possibility.
Wiseman will be getting some practice time in with the Warriors between the aforementioned games. And, depending on how his body is holding up and how he’s performing and meshing with his teammates on the floor, the team could decide to get him back to mix.
It’s also possible that he returns to the G League.
Said Myers: “We’re gonna have a few days off here and practice together. We’ll see how that goes. We’ll decide whether he needs another G League game or if he’s ready to go and Steve [Kerr] will put him in the rotation.”
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Guessing at Wiseman’s Role
At this point in time, the big question about Wiseman may be what exactly the team plans to do with him when he does finally come back. For his part, The Athletic’s Anthony Slater doesn’t see the Warriors asking much of him at all:
Limited role. I’d expect them to try Wiseman out in the second unit when Steph Curry is off the floor. Probably as a pick-and-roll partner with Jordan Poole. But for him to have any definitive playoff opportunity he will need to earn it with strong play as a simplified dive man and rebounder. The Warriors do still have four back-to-backs though. They’ll likely rest a bunch of veterans on a few. So for a night or two he may get big minutes.
During his rookie campaign in 2020-21, Wiseman appeared in 39 games (including 27 starts) and averaged 11.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 0.9 blocks while connecting on 51.9% of his field-goal attempts. However, Golden State was outscored by 8.8 points per 100 possessions when he was on the floor.
If he continues to be a net negative during his return, Kerr may not be able to afford giving him many minutes.
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