https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/warriors/james-wisemans-30-point-game-brightens-warriors-uncertain-future

Wiseman's big night brightens Warriors' uncertain future

21H ago
by Monte Poole

The game Wednesday night was garbage on fire, the Nets torching the
Warriors from the opening tip. Beneath the trash, though, James Wiseman
was making a statement sure to bring tears to eyes across the franchise.

Tears of joy.

In the 55th game of an NBA career defined by stops and starts and
mounting frustration, Wiseman rang up his first 30-point game. He did it
on 14 shots on a variety of dunks and hooks, but also splashing his only
attempt from beyond the arc. This was as the Warriors imagined when they
selected him with the second overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft.

With the Warriors nearing the point of deciding whether to remain
committed to Wiseman or be prepared to part with him in trade, a
productive game, regardless of quality, showcases his abilities. More of
this means there is more for the NBA to like, whether its Golden State
or elsewhere.

“James did a great job tonight,” coach Steve Kerr told reporters in
Brooklyn after a 143-113 loss. “It was fun to see him let loose and get
some minutes and make the most of it. He did a lot of good things
offensively.”

Wiseman can get buckets. Always could. His shooting touch is naturally
soft, and his footwork is improving. He still looks like a young man a
year out of high school, which in basketball terms he is.

But as nice as it is to have an athletic 7-foot-1 center, only 21 years
old, who can drop 30 in an NBA game, that’s not what the Warriors need
of Wiseman. It’s not their priority now, nor is it typical of their
recent history.

When Kerr became head coach in May 2014, he inherited Andrew Bogut, a
natural defender with a high basketball IQ and an eagerness to use his
physicality to benefit the team. Set a hard screen? By all means.
Discourage drives to the rim? You bet. Direct traffic in the paint?
Bogut prided himself on knowing where and when to be at a specific spot
on the floor.

Bogut’s presence – and his influence on young Draymond Green – was a
huge factor in the Warriors winning a franchise-record 67 games and the
NBA Finals in Kerr’s rookie season.

In the years since, the Warriors have won three more championships. And
their designated centers have been cut from similar cloth. Bogut gave
way to Zaza Pachulia/David West, who gave way to Kevon Looney. JaVale
McGee was the team’s change-of-pace center, but he operated with similar
principles.

Those guys rarely scored in double digits, but their objective was
clear. It’s the same with Draymond Green when he slides to center.

And the role of Warriors center won’t change very much until the day the
Warriors no longer are built around Stephen Curry. That day has not arrived.

Yet here is Wiseman, a vastly different kind of player than his
predecessors. The Warriors accepted that when they drafted him. They saw
him as their post-Curry center, someone who could be a presence in the
paint at both ends, capable of getting 20 points and 10 rebounds most
any night.

Wiseman still might be that. Someday. His peak is unknown, but less than
60 games into his NBA career, he is nowhere near it.

Yet there is Curry, still magnificent at age 34, with no end in sight.
Curry benefitted from Bogut, from Pachulia, from West, from McGee. He
benefits from Looney.

Wiseman? Not so much.

The Warriors have spent two years and millions of dollars trying to
nudge Wiseman toward becoming the big man they need, rather than the one
he is. They lured a coach, Dejan Milojević, from Europe to guide
Wiseman’s gifts, refine his raw skills and summon his inner tiger. This
is very much a work in progress, likely to take multiple years – if ever.

“He has a great impact on my development,” Wiseman said of Milojević.
“We’re still working on a lot of stuff, especially defense. We’re
chipping away at it every day, trying to figure it out by watching film
or talking or just going to dinner and talking about basketball.”

Note that Kerr specified Wiseman “did a lot of good things offensively.”
Note that Wiseman specified that the focus of his developmental program
is “especially defense.”

Wiseman remains in limbo, between the NBA and the G League, between what
the Warriors want and what he has to offer. His assets on the offense
end are good – but not so wonderful they offset his defensive liabilities.

But it’s a joyful moment for the Warriors when someone whose future is
being debated, as Wiseman is, puts on a show. It’s one thing they can
take from an otherwise forgettable night.