Kurtenbach: The Warriors trading James Wiseman was the right call then. It looks even smarter today
James Wiseman's NBA career has not taken off since arriving in Detroit.
As the Warriors were hammered in the paint by the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday, it was easy to think, “This team needs a 7-footer.”
One logical step from that was remembering that the Warriors drafted a 7-foot center with the No. 2 overall pick in the NBA Draft not long ago.
But last spring, the Warriors traded away James Wiseman, who landed with the Pistons. On Monday night, the Warriors will play in Detroit.
They’ll head to the Motor City looking like geniuses for making that deal.
Do the Warriors have a size problem? Absolutely.
But as they discovered firsthand, Wiseman was not a solution to that issue.
And while the center is only 22 years old, things have not improved in Detroit.
Now and again, there is a flash of that talent that pushed him to the top of the draft, but on the whole, Wiseman is fighting for his NBA life.
The Warriors, meanwhile, received Gary Payton II in the Wiseman trade. With the guard fully healthy entering this season, the Warriors lack any regrets for making that deal. Payton is a perfect fit on this Warriors’ team — a smart, energetic player who fits the Dubs’ systems and can even close games.
The Warriors made the Wiseman-Payton trade with a bit of hesitation. They were admitting defeat on a 21-year-old center with enviable athleticism — there was risk there.
With the hindsight of nine months, the Warriors would make the Wiseman for Payton trade 100 times out of 100.
The only regret the Warriors need to carry from the Wiseman era is why they fell for him in the first place.
There was some benevolence in the Warriors’ trading Wiseman. He was at the end of the Dubs’ bench last season, but the Pistons were — and remain — a team of second chances and young players.
If Wiseman was ever to reach his potential — once thought to be prodigious — it would come in a situation like Detroit’s.
But so far this season, Wiseman has been at the end of the Pistons’ bench, only playing in one game for six minutes.
Wiseman lost out on Detroit’s third-string center role to Marvin Bagley Jr. — himself a former failed No. 2 overall pick.
With Isaiah Stewart and impressive sophomore Jalen Duren on the roster, there doesn’t appear to be a path to playing time for Wiseman, who is in the final year of his contract.
Perhaps another team takes a flyer and trades for him this season. The third time is the charm, right?
But in all likelihood, Wiseman is heading down the path of an NBA journeyman.
He’s too talented to play in the G-League or even an international league but not skilled enough to crack an NBA rotation.
And until one of those two things is deemed false, he’ll float around the league, grabbing league-minimum deals and only playing in emergencies.
It’s the path former Warrior first-round pick and center Damian Jones has taken. He’s played for six teams since the Warriors traded him in the summer of 2019. He’s now with the Cavs. He’s played in 46 games in the last three seasons.
Jones was the No. 30 pick in the NBA Draft, though. The fact that he is still being paid millions to be in the league, eight seasons in, is an accomplishment.
Wiseman carries the burden of being a No. 2 pick. Everywhere he goes, he’ll be seen as a “bust.”
It adds a dose of tragedy to his story. It’s not like his poor NBA career is karmic retribution — he’s a stand-up kid, but things haven’t worked out on the court.
Perhaps Wiseman plays when the Pistons host the Warriors on Monday. If there was ever a game for the 7-footer to show off his skills, playing the diminutive Warriors is it.
But the truth is that Wiseman probably won’t play.
And doesn’t that say it all?