Getty Golden State Warriors big man James Wiseman handles the ball during a summer league bout with the San Antonio Spurs.
James Wiseman has already run a gauntlet in his young career with the Golden State Warriors. From a meniscus tear and a stop-and-start rehab process to a doomed return to the court and his team winning the title without him — it has been a lot for the former No. 2 pick.
Along the way, more than a few have lost some hope in his ability to get back onto the court and begin making good on his massive potential. Not Joe Lacob, though. The Dubs owner continues to keep the faith that the best is yet to come from Wiseman.
“The guy’s had a lot of bad luck,” Lacob told The Athletic’s Tim Kawakami on the July 7 episode of his podcast. “I think he’s an immense talent. …Give this guy the whole year. He needs playing time. But by the end of the year, I believe he’ll be a very solid player for us.”
Lacob thinks the big payoff could happen sooner rather than later, too. As he sees it, it’s simply a matter of the baller getting reps.
“I will just tell you, I think he has the potential to be an enormously positive addition to the minutes rotation on our team,” Lacob said. “He is a monster. I’ve been watching basketball all my life. I have not seen many players do what he can do. He’s gotten bigger and stronger. He’s got to get his timing back, clearly, he needs the experience.”
Wiseman Brought It in His Summer League Debut
For the first time since his ill-fated G League stint in March, Wiseman got live reps in a game situation during his summer league debut against the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday. To say that he wasted little time making his presence known would be putting it lightly.
After winning the opening tip-off, Wiseman finished an alley-oop dunk, blocked a shot and knocked down a three-point bomb, all within the first 90 seconds of Golden State’s 86-85 win over San Antonio’s summer squad.
By night’s end, the 20-year-old had finished with 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting, while adding two rebounds and two blocks in 20 minutes of play. It wasn’t all roses for Wiseman, though, as he also racked up a whopping seven fouls and committed three turnovers.
Still, the simple fact that he was out on the court, moving fluidly and competing, was a landmark moment in the very process Lacob is talking about. And Wiseman fully understands as much.
“It felt good just to run out there, be out there with my teammates and just be grateful I’m out here,” Wiseman told Chris Haynes after the game. “I haven’t played in a whole year and a half so it’s kind of different for me out there, but I’m going to get back to it.”
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Lacob Defends the Dubs’ Unique Strategy
Throughout the 2021-22 campaign, there were some that questioned the Warriors’ collective decision to try and develop a core of young players in Wiseman, Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody and Jordan Poole while simultaneously chasing a title. It’s nigh on impossible to argue with the results so far, though.
“Some people criticize us for the ‘dual timeline.’ Now, everyone thinks it’s brilliant because we won,” Lacob said.
While his team must continue to prove the concept going forward — Can the Warriors win it again? Will anyone outside of Poole actually develop? — Lacob and Co. are committed to seeing this thing through.
“I would think the fans, like us, we don’t want to have a span of five to 10 years where we’re not good. We’re going to try to win championships, we did it and we’re going to try to do it again this year, and at the same time develop young players who can eventually continue to earn more and more minutes as the older guys start to take less of a role.”
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Warriors Owner Makes Big Statement About Former No. 2 Pick’s Future