The Golden State Warriors finally parted ways with former No. 2 overall pick James Wiseman at the trade deadline and will be eyeing the buyout market for potential big-man options.
Warriors general manager Bob Myers spoke to the media on Monday and confirmed they’ll be looking at the options that become available that can make an impact.
“Yeah, we’ll have to look at the buyout market,” Myers said. “I think much like last year’s deadline, we moved forward with Looney and Draymond, who have kind of split minutes in the regular season. JaMychal, I guess is who you can call our other big.
“Last year, we also had a couple of non-traditional bigs. Nemanja Bjelica’s not in the NBA, so I can talk about him. He was a shooting big who did a nice job and was another good player that helped us. We hope that we have enough, but we’ll look and see.”
Myers: ‘Don’t Confuse Activity for Achievement
But Myers delivered a stern reminder, saying, “Don’t confuse activity for achievement.” It doesn’t do the Warriors any good to get a big or notable player if he doesn’t fit the system.
“It’s also determining how the coaches will use that player,” Myers said. “For us to say, ‘Here’s a big guy.’ And the coaching staff to say, ‘We’re not playing that guy,’ it doesn’t matter if he’s 7-feet tall or 8-feet tall. Any buyout conversation has to be done in collaboration with the coaching staff, because why bring a player in if they’re not going to use him?
“But if there’s a player the coaching staff and the front office thinks can be helpful, absolutely. We’ll go target that guy.”
The Warriors cold also look to convert one of their two-way guys in Anthony Lamb or Ty Jerome, although that will also be a collaborative conversation with Kerr and his staff.
“I think we have to look and see, whether it’s that or it’s another player or whatever it might be and compare and say to Steve, ‘Hey, these are your options: Which player do you think helps us most,’ and make that determination,” Myers explained. “Again, they’re going to play, especially with this many games left in the season.”
The buyout market is still developing but only time will tell if the Warriors will add a new face.
Wiseman Trade Not Indictment of His Talent
Wiseman at 7 feet tall fit the mold as a traditional big but Myers felt he just wasn’t getting enough time on the court with the Warriors to develop into the player they needed.
It wasn’t easy to part ways with the former No. 2 overall pick but Myers wished him well in Detroit.
“One of the reasons we drafted him is because of who he is,” Myers said. “He is a great kid, and did everything we asked him to do … It was a tough thing to do to move someone that we liked that much as a person. I know it’s a business, but it goes beyond that as far as on the court, off the court stuff. That was a challenge, but I hope he does well. I hope he gets an opportunity to play, and I think he will, more than he was getting with us.”
Wiseman averaged 6.9 points and 3.5 rebounds in 12.5 minutes off the bench this season with the Warriors.
Comments
Warriors Break Silence on Big-Man Buyout Plans