James Wiseman to spend ‘extended period’ in Santa Cruz with Warriors’ G
League team
Warriors center James Wiseman will be heading to Santa Cruz Tuesday,
coach Steve Kerr announced Monday after the Warriors destroyed the San
Antonio Spurs.
>Golden State Warriors’ James Wiseman #33 is congratulated by Stephen
Curry #30 after a dunk in the third quarter of their NBA game against
the Miami Heat at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on
Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
By MADELINE KENNEY | mkenney@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: November 14, 2022 at 9:49 p.m. | UPDATED: November 15, 2022
at 7:34 a.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/11/14/james-wiseman-to-spend-extended-period-in-santa-cruz-with-g-league-team-kerr/

SAN FRANCISCO — It didn’t matter what James Wiseman did when coach Steve
Kerr turned to the struggling 7-foot center in the fourth quarter of
Golden State’s blowout win against the San Antonio Spurs.

The Warriors had already determined his fate.

Wiseman will be heading to Santa Cruz Tuesday, Kerr announced after the
Warriors’ 132-95 win. The former No. 2 overall pick will spend an
“extended period” with the Warriors’ G League affiliate, which Kerr said
could last longer than a week.

“It’s not going to be one game and bring him back,” Kerr said. “We want
to give him maybe 10 straight days — something like that — and come
back. And we all know things happen in this league and he’s gonna find
his way back to the rotation at some point. But the best thing for him
is to play a lot of minutes and get a lot of reps.”

Wiseman, 21, went from being one of the first players off the bench at
the start of the season to being out of the rotation as he struggled to
get acclimated to the speed of the game. In 11 games this season,
Wiseman averaged 7.3 points and four rebounds. Kerr benched Wiseman for
three straight games before having him check in to the fourth quarter
Monday when the Warriors were up by 41 points.

The Spurs jumped on a 12-0 run after Wiseman checked in. He finished
with two points on 1-of-3 shooting in Monday’s rout.

After the game, Wiseman said he was informed of the Warriors’ decision
to send him to Santa Cruz Sunday night. He said he doesn’t believe this
is a step back in his development.

“It’s basketball, just go down there and have fun,” Wiseman said. “I
don’t look at it like a demotion.”

The Warriors still view Wiseman as a foundational piece for their dual
timeline plan that’s being put to the test this season. But as the
defending champions stumbled out of the gates to a 6-8 start, it became
clear that he wasn’t getting the reps and playing time he needs to
develop and find his rhythm.

“It’s really hard for anybody to be in and out of the lineup, but for a
young guy who’s been through a lot already it’s a lot to go through,”
Kerr said. “Part of his is that he barely played any basketball before
he got to the NBA and then he had a major injury. What I love about
James is that he’s got incredible character and work ethic and care for
the team.”

Wiseman played in only three games at Memphis before he got entangled in
a college recruiting scandal. After going second overall with what was
the Warriors’ highest draft pick since 1995, Wiseman saw action in 39
NBA games in 2020-21 before his rookie season was cut short with a knee
injury. He played in three G League games last season as he worked his
way back from a torn meniscus, but the Warriors ultimately shut him down
for good in April as swelling persisted in his surgically repaired knee.

“Wise is all in on the team and because of his talent, because of all
those characteristics I just talked about, I’m a huge believer
long-term, he’s going to be a really good player,” Kerr said. “But he
needs reps, he needs to play and it’s not easy when you don’t get
minutes, it’s hard for anybody.”

Jordan Poole can relate to what Wiseman might be experiencing. He was
sent to the G League bubble in 2020 in a move that’s been largely viewed
as a turning point in the young guard’s career. Poole offered words of
encouragement for his teammate after dropping 37 points against the
Spurs Monday.

“James is going to be A-OK,” Poole said. “Me, personally, I have the
utmost confidence in him. He’s talented, he’s curious, he’s hungry, he’s
gifted, he’s humble, he has all the pieces you needs to be successful.”

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Poole reminded Wiseman that being sent to the G League is not a
punishment but an opportunity.

“You’re gonna go down there and shoot as many shots as you want, get as
many touches as you want, work on as many moves as you want,” Poole said
he told Wiseman. “Just have fun. It’s just basketball.

“The outside noise is what will make it tough. Everybody’s opinion,
everybody has something to say. Honestly nobody cares what they think,”
Poole continued. “James is going to have to be laser focused, and I
think he will be.

“I’m going to tell him to shoot 50 shots, be aggressive… do it all so he
can understand where he wants to be at the highest level, this is just a
step in that direction. Everybody in the locker room is encouraging him,
has his back whenever he has questions, he’ll be good.”

Allen wrote:
> Wiseman will be heading to Santa Cruz Tuesday, Kerr announced after the
> Warriors’ 132-95 win. The former No. 2 overall pick will spend an
> “extended period” with the Warriors’ G League affiliate, which Kerr said
> could last longer than a week.

I was hoping that the Warriors would consider that. He needs a lot more
reps than they can give him right now, and the G League is the place to
do that. It really doesn't do anything at all if he's not getting any
playing time in the NBA, and a couple of minutes of garbage time here
and there (assuming games where that's even an option) doesn't really
help much. 20 to 30 minutes a night for a week or two in Santa Cruz may
help his development a lot more. See "Poole, Jordan" for reference

To me, "extended period" is something of a misnomer. Yes, it's more
than overnight trips for individual games, but it seems likely that
they're not going to stick him there until January.

It's good that he seems to have a good attitude, of viewing this
assignment as an opportunity rather than a demotion.

Smith

NFN Smith wrote:
> Allen wrote:
>> Wiseman will be heading to Santa Cruz Tuesday, Kerr announced after
>> the Warriors’ 132-95 win. The former No. 2 overall pick will spend an
>> “extended period” with the Warriors’ G League affiliate, which Kerr
>> said could last longer than a week.
>
> I was hoping that the Warriors would consider that. He needs a lot more
> reps than they can give him right now, and the G League is the place to
> do that.  It really doesn't do anything at all if he's not getting any
> playing time in the NBA, and a couple of minutes of garbage time here
> and there (assuming games where that's even an option) doesn't really
> help much.  20 to 30 minutes a night for a week or two in Santa Cruz may
> help his development a lot more.  See "Poole, Jordan" for reference
>
> To me, "extended period" is something of a misnomer.  Yes, it's more
> than overnight trips for individual games, but it seems likely that
> they're not going to stick him there until January.
>
> It's good that he seems to have a good attitude, of viewing this
> assignment as an opportunity rather than a demotion.
>
> Smith
>

I agree. He needs to play, and that's only going to happen in the G League.

--Robin

On 11/15/2022 3:08 PM, NFN Smith wrote:
> Allen wrote:
>> Wiseman will be heading to Santa Cruz Tuesday, Kerr announced after
>> the Warriors’ 132-95 win. The former No. 2 overall pick will spend an
>> “extended period” with the Warriors’ G League affiliate, which Kerr
>> said could last longer than a week.
>
> I was hoping that the Warriors would consider that. He needs a lot more
> reps than they can give him right now, and the G League is the place to
> do that.  It really doesn't do anything at all if he's not getting any
> playing time in the NBA, and a couple of minutes of garbage time here
> and there (assuming games where that's even an option) doesn't really
> help much.  20 to 30 minutes a night for a week or two in Santa Cruz may
> help his development a lot more.  See "Poole, Jordan" for reference
>
> To me, "extended period" is something of a misnomer.  Yes, it's more
> than overnight trips for individual games, but it seems likely that
> they're not going to stick him there until January.
>
> It's good that he seems to have a good attitude, of viewing this
> assignment as an opportunity rather than a demotion.
>
> Smith

I agree with all of this. It's an opportunity for him to learn what he
can do and can't do against NBA-quality players (i.e. bigger, faster,
stronger), especially how to use his body when playing defense.