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The Golden State Warriors will be looking to return to the playoffs after missing the last two years. The Dubs have enjoyed a historic five-year streak that saw them play five straight NBA Finals and win three titles from 2015 to 2019.
Things got worse during the 2019-2020 campaign. All-star goalie Klay Thompson tore his ACL in Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals, while Kevin Durant signed with the Brooklyn Nets in free agency.
Then Stephen Curry got injured early in the season, and the result was the Warriors fell to the bottom of the standings, ending the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 campaign with a 15-50 record.
Golden State was awarded the No. 2 pick for his futile season, which they used against big man James Wiseman.
The Memphis product has had a top-down rookie season for the Dubs. Wiseman averaged 11.5 points and 5.8 rebounds in 21.4 minutes per game, but struggled with consistency.
Golden State’s net score was 11.4 points better per 100 possessions with Wiseman on the bench. His defensive rating of 110.6 is the fourth worst of any Warrior who has played significant minutes, per NBA.com.
But Wiseman has shown some potential. He had a high of 25 points and six rebounds in the Jan. 27 victory over the Minnesota Timber Wolves. He showed his athletic ability by landing several alley-oops and finished well around the rim.
Wiseman’s rookie season ended when he tore his meniscus in April. Head Coach Steve Kerr spoke with Anthony Slater of The Athletic and gave some good news on Wiseman’s health.
“He’s on schedule for everything and from now on the medical team tells me he’ll be ready for camp.
Kerr likes what he saw of Wiseman in a less than ideal rookie season. The pandemic forced teams to change their off-season training schedules, which limited Wiseman’s time to work with Golden State coaches after the draft.
He also dealt with some injury issues before injuring his knee and running out of time due to NBA health and safety protocols.
Kerr is happy with Wiseman’s ability to become the Dubs’ long-term fix at center despite the challenges of last season.
Kerr is watching a certain player currently playing in the NBA Finals and is hoping Wiseman can use that as a blueprint for future success.
“I am so inspired by what [Deandre] Ayton was able to do [in the playoffs]”Kerr said.” And I think there’s no reason that James can’t go down the same path.
“I know everyone is impatient [and] wants him to be big now. It just doesn’t work that way. But if we continue to develop it and have a great season, that’s the whole plan, that’s the whole idea.
“In the long term, we’re going to develop James and we think he’s going to be our starting center at some point for a long, long time.”
Wiseman has been mentioned as possible trade bait as GM Bob Myers does his due diligence on what kind of return he could get this offseason. Golden State also owns the No. 7 and No. 14 picks in the 2021 NBA Draft and could pack the picks with Wiseman for help from a veteran.
On some links:
Durant has been in the headlines for some of his comments on social media lately. The two-time NBA Finals MVP shared his thoughts on the Warriors-Cleveland Cavaliers 2017 title game (NBC Sports)
What the landscape looks like as next month approaches free agency NBA? Sam Quinn of CBS Sports outlined the financial situation of all NBA teams ahead of the offseason.
Who will the Dubs take if they keep their two lottery picks this year? Tony Pesto of Fanside has posted his latest fictional draft.
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