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James Wiseman has learned plenty of patience through his first year in the NBA, and the Golden State Warriors center is apparently willing to wait even longer to start his second season.
Wiseman has been working his way back from a knee injury that cut short his first NBA season, one that required surgery and wiped out what would have been his first full offseason. As he grows closer to a full return, Wiseman said that he wouldn’t mind taking what many players might consider a demotion — starting the season in the G League.
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Wiseman Willing to Take It Slow
As ESPN’s Nick Friedell reported, Wiseman was cleared to participate in full-team practices on Monday, moving him one step closer to a full return. But the first action Wiseman sees this season may not be in Golden State, and not in the NBA. The 20-year-old center said he wouldn’t mind spending some time with the Santa Cruz Warriors, the team’s G League affiliate.
“I would like to go down there so that I can get sharp physically, mentally,” Wiseman said. “And I’m getting there. So whatever happens within that time, I’m down for whatever.”
The Warriors have seen success in honing their young players in Santa Cruz over the last two seasons. Guard Jordan Poole bounced between Golden State and Santa Cruz in 2020, using his time at the lower level to work on his game. He had a mid-season breakout after returning, becoming one of the team’s top scoring options on the second unit and earning a job as a starter this season.
In an appearance on NBC Sports Bay Area, former Warriors star turned analyst Chris Mullin predicted that the Warriors could send their pair of lottery picks to Santa Cruz to work on their own development.
“Well for Moses Moody and Jonathan Kuminga the blueprint and the playbook is Jordan Poole,” Mullin said. “We’ve seen steady progress to where he’s really a bigtime threat this year.”
Mullin’s prediction has been proven correct so far. In a break between games, the Warriors send Moody to Santa Cruz to get some action in a G League preseason game.
Wiseman’s Hard Work
The hard work that Wiseman’s been putting in has not gone unnoticed. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said after the team’s November 1 practice that Wiseman has been getting closer and closer to his return, with his rehab going off without a hitch so far.
“I think it’s just been a gradual improvement over time,” Kerr said after Monday’s practice. “He hasn’t had any setbacks. But this is something that we’re obviously taking very seriously and taking very slowly, but the good thing is he advanced from his individual work to do all of the team stuff other than the scrimmaging so it’s a good step, but it’s just part of the process.”
Wiseman has been doing more than just recovering from his knee injury. The second-year center said this week that he’s been bulking up his once-lean frame, adding between seven and 10 pounds of muscle since the end of last season.
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