Getty Golden State Warriors center James Wiseman fires up a shot during a bout with the Brooklyn Nets.
Despite the optimism that permeated the Bay in the fall, James Wiseman’s early career with the Golden State Warriors continues to be an incredibly frustrating experience for the citizens of Dub Nation.
For his latest tease, the former No. 2 pick dropped a 30-piece on the Nets on December 21. Then, true to form, he went scoreless in his very next appearance and failed to log more than 10 minutes of court time in any of the next three. He’s back on the injury report now, too; this time with a sprained left ankle.
While the process has been a rough one for fans, it has probably been worse for Dubs owner Joe Lacob, who infamously made some big statements about the baller a couple of years ago. More recently, he made headlines by attending Wiseman’s debut in the G League while sporting the big man’s No. 33 jersey.
Despite the apparent fondness he has for Wiseman, though, Lacob took the opportunity to dispel a myth about the 22-year-old’s drafting during a recent podcast interview with The Athletic‘s Tim Kawakami.
Joe Lacob Didn’t Force James Wiseman’s Selection on the Warriors
Wiseman — who’s averaging just 6.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and 0.4 blocks in 12.7 minutes per game this season — may or may not be the apple of Lacob’s eye, but the chairman made it clear during his pod appearance that he didn’t overrule anyone in selecting the Memphis product back in 2020.
Contrary to popular belief, everyone was on board (even as LaMelo Ball was there for the taking).
“I want to correct something for you and our fans — our entire front office and head coach wanted to draft James Wiseman. We were universal in that regard,” Lacob declared. “I know people like to make up stuff.”
And despite everything that has gone down with Wiseman since — the meniscus tear, the overlong rehab, frequent lapses on both sides of the ball and those ungodly on/off numbers (he’s minus-22.9 points/100 possessions in ’22-23 after checking in at minus-8.8 as a rookie) — they’re apparently still in his corner.
“We all loved him, and I think we are all still very high on him. The question will be what do we have to do with our roster. How important is winning today versus two years from now? We have to balance all that, and we have to balance financial. So I think there’s a lot of ways this thing could go.
“But as of right now, I’m still very, very positive about the young man.”
The Comments That First Raised Eyebrows
Regardless of what he says now or how it’s interpreted, Lacob was clearly as high as a person could possibly be on Wiseman entering the baller’s rookie season. At the time, he even went so far as to mention him in the same breath as a center who’s probably a top four or five player league-wide at this point.
“To be honest with you, he was my No. 1 forever, basically. I just think he’s a once-in-a-decade kind of guy,” Lacob told Kawakami in 2020.
“I would argue that, other than [Joel] Embiid, I don’t know that there’s another center prospect that’s come along in the last decade that you would put in the same category. Different players, maybe. But this guy is immensely talented.”