Rethinking James Wiseman
December 16th 2023 | Bryce Hollins
As of now, the idea of James Wiseman sounds much better than the reality.
Now into his fourth NBA season and first full season in Detroit after a trade deadline deal sent him from Golden State to the Motor City last February, it may be now or never for the once highly touted prospect out of Memphis.
With only 99 basketball games total under his belt since leaving Memphis East High School in 2019 (102 NBA games), James Wiseman is technically still in his basketball infancy in terms of overall game experience, and it shows.
Now into year four of the restoration process, the Pistons were expected to be more competitive this season, meaning the time for teaching and development should be beginning to become more of an afterthought than a priority.
According to Kory E. Woods, writer for MLive, in a post-practice interview at the beginning of the season, Head Coach Monty Williams spoke about players not getting the opportunity to play through their mistakes this season as they might’ve in the past.
“I think too many guys have played through mistakes, and they’ve picked up bad habits,” said Williams. “Sometimes you’ve got to pull them, talk to them, show them, and then get them back out there.
“But just allowing guys to play through repetitive mistakes, I’m not sure that is a recipe for success.”
While this change of coaching philosophy should be a breath of fresh air for an increasingly impatient (for good reason) fanbase, now 20+ games into the season, Monty Williams hasn’t been 100% consistent in his approach.
With the Detroit Pistons historically bad to start the season, besting the franchise-worst losing streak at 22 games, development, and general improvement should be at the forefront of the Pistons plans this season.
As someone fighting for a rotation spot and potentially a place on the roster, Wiseman hasn’t gotten the same grace as other young players. His leash has been shorter than ever, and if he doesn’t respond his time in Detroit may be coming to a close.
The Idea
Listed at 7 feet, 240 pounds, and a reported 7 foot 6 wingspan, James Wiseman is simply a massive human being. Very few players in today’s NBA can compare to Wiseman in size and length. Combine that with great straight-line speed and solid jumping ability, Wiseman has an interesting intersection of size and athleticism. This alone gives him the potential to be a strong play-finisher in the league.
Naturally, Wiseman is a scorer. While the overall percentages may not currently show it, his scoring touch is quite impressive. With a feathery lefty hook over the right shoulder, or shooting range that extends out to the three-point line, the baseline for an efficient scorer is there. For someone his size his handle is also quite functional, especially in transition. Mixing varying hesitations, spins, or long crossovers, usually used to get back to his left hand to finish. Offensively, the talent is there, Wiseman just has yet to put it all together.
Defensively, a lot of James Wiseman’s appeal comes from his combination of size and athleticism mentioned earlier. While there is much more context and nuance that goes into being a positive NBA defender, Wiseman SHOULD be able to be a rim deterrent and strong rebounder, even if he only achieves a minor extent of his potential. While there are very few truly switchable bigs in the league, someone with his tools should have the ability to hold up against some bigger ball handlers, at least in a pinch.
However, James Wiseman was never drafted to be a defensive stalwart or high-level anchor. His offensive production was always meant to outshine some of the potential concerns on that end, and with a multitude of defenders surrounding him, those concerns can theoretically be minimized.
The Reality
Time with Golden State
James Wiseman’s time in Golden State may be best described as insufficient. With only 60 games played in his 2.5 years with the organization, the sample size was simply too small to come to any definite conclusions, though some struggles were palpable and have continued into his time in Detroit.
Drafted to be the successor to Stephen Curry and continue the Warriors dynasty, expectations don’t get much higher than that. Though, that comes with the territory of being the rare top pick to be drafted onto a championship-contending roster. Wiseman was expected to immediately contribute to winning, while also developing and refining his skills behind the scenes.
Unfortunately for Wiseman, Golden State’s system is not an ideal situation for someone with such little high-level basketball experience. As mentioned earlier, Wiseman is a scorer and needs the ball in his hands to be most effective. Reducing him to a screener, defender, and rebounder likely wasn’t the best for his personal development, but maximizing Steph was rightfully the priority.
Then come the injuries. From day one James Wiseman was never able to constantly stay on the floor. A sprained wrist and torn meniscus cost him all but 39 games of his rookie season and the entirety of his second season. Then after a disappointing start to his third season, another ankle injury at the end of December, and only 21 games played, James Wiseman was traded to the Detroit Pistons.
Time with Pistons
As the roster stands now, James Wiseman is competing for the backup center spot with Marvin Bagley. Jalen Duren has the starting center spot secured and Isaiah Stewart should get some time at the five in certain situations. This season there has really been no avenue for Wiseman to get consistent minutes, besides injury, unless he beats out one of the aforementioned players.
Now into year four, many of his past excuses are reaching their expiration date. If James Wiseman is not better than the other guys, he won't play, simple as that. Even though he wasn’t drafted to be that screener, defender, and rebounder the Warriors hoped to form him into, that may be his best option for long-term sustained success.
Though, with the Pistons historically bad start to the season, and injury concerns for both Jalen Duren and Marvin Bagley, Wiseman will likely get his fair share of opportunities to prove himself going forward.
The Truth
With a 14-41 record on the day of the trade deadline, for perhaps the first time in his basketball career James Wiseman was on a team with little to no expectations. In his 24 games in Detroit last season Wiseman started 22 and averaged 12.7 - 8.1 - .7 per game on 53.1% - 16.7% - 71.2% shooting splits in 25 MPG.
Compared to his role in Golden State, where he was at the end of the rotation averaging 12.5 minutes per game, this is quite a drastic change of scenery. With more freedom to play to his strengths and through mistakes, along with an extended period of relative health, this was Wiseman’s first opportunity to show who he is and what he can become.
While Wiseman did have his fair share of good games, they were also flanked by a plethora of poor performances. With a lack of consistency from outing to outing, Wiseman struggled to continually stack positives night in and night out. Though, that should be expected for a top pick turned reclamation project who is still trying to find his footing in the league.
These reps, positive and negative, are essential for a player like Wiseman who has such little game experience, especially in a lost season. At this point, winning becomes increasingly less important and improvement takes priority over all. The Wiseman trade was never made to change the course of the season, only a developmental swing for the fences.
This season Wiseman is averaging 5.3 - 3.2 - .04 in just 11.7 minutes per game and at times has been completely out of the rotation. He has played in only 14 of the Pistons 25 games, though, has seen an uptick in playtime as of late.
The Future
After not receiving his rookie scale extension from the Pistons, Wiseman will play this season in Detroit and then head for restricted free agency this summer. While teams are always in search of players with his athletic profile if Wiseman doesn’t show an improved understanding and feel for the game, finding a potential suitor may prove difficult.
Wiseman has likely put enough decent tape together for some team to believe in his potential going forward. While there is still a way to go, he has made notable improvements this season, mostly regarding positioning, on both ends.
He has stopped turning his rolls into post-ups as often. He has done a better job being in the correct spots defensively. He has started to block some shots. He has even made some impressive passes. He will only get better over time.
However, teams likely won’t be willing to continually put resources into his development any longer in favor of younger, more unknown prospects, or simply winning. Regardless of where Wiseman ends up this offseason, he NEEDS consistent game experience to continue to grow as a player.
Now, not only is he playing for his spot in the rotation, but soon James Wiseman may also be playing for his spot in the association. At this point, his second pick label is more of a faded memory than classification.