Warriors center James Wiseman has suffered another setback in his return from a right knee injury, Marcus Thompson II and Anthony Slater of The Athletic report.
Wiseman is experiencing swelling in his knee and won’t play for the team’s G League affiliate on Sunday. He has been “temporarily shut down.”
Thompson and Slater caution that Golden State hasn’t determined Wiseman’s status for the rest of the season, but time is running out in the campaign. The Warriors are 47-23 and have just 12 games left before the playoffs begin.
Wiseman underwent surgery for a torn meniscus last April. He had a second procedure in December after dealing with some swelling, then returned to play in the G League last week. He logged 62 minutes across three games.
Wiseman was selected No. 2 overall in the 2020 NBA Draft. He has yet to play in a game this season and appeared in 39 contests last year, averaging 11.5 points and 5.8 rebounds in 21.4 minutes per outing.
If the warriors were deep enough they would shut him down, but they aren’t. They are another injury to Dray away from falling in the first round. And the blame should be placed partially on whoever decided they didnt need depth in the frontcourt
Even with wiseman they should’ve addressed their front court depth, positionless NBA is dead, your big men matter so much now…I do think it was smart they didn’t make some huge move to address it though, keep your picks there’s a few nba ready true centers that will fall to them in the draft who would add to their depth
You are correct, and the comment below is not. Warriors easily could have added depth at Center. Not a marquee player, of course, but competent veteran talent for limited / backup minutes. They didn’t, and they’ve been paying the price.
That being said, Wiseman was NEVER going to be an impact player this year. Still far too raw. Unlikely he was ever going to be in the Playoff rotation. If it’s not yet time to hang an “injury prone” label on Wiseman, that time is fast approaching.
“Positionless NBA is dead” …. IDK, man. Let’s see what it looks like in the playoffs. We’re less than a year removed from Gobert getting played off the floor by a Kawhi-less Clippers team
If we have three dead-eye shooters on the perimeter (e.g., Steph, Klay, Poole), then we have a good chance of minimizing the impact of a defensive-minded Center like Gobert. If we’re bricking and shooting well under 40%, then the lack of size in the pain becomes more of an issue on offense.
My concern is more on the other end of the floor, where offensive stars like Embiid, Giannis, Jokic, AD, etc. eat us up, and even lesser offensive threats can hurt us on the offensive glass. Both problems get exacerbated when Draymond needs to leave his man to give help and contest an inside shot. It frees up his man for ORebs and put-backs.
Well the good news is that Embiid and Giannis are on the opposite bracket—and AD and Jokic are teams that, if GSW is healthy, have absolutely no chance of beating them this year.
I kind of get them not bolstering the FC for that reason. Like, am I really that scared of DeAndre Ayton if I’m Golden State?
“Like, am I really that scared of DeAndre Ayton if I’m Golden State?”
Yes, absolutely. Ayton is no joke at all, he’s getting better on both ends of the floor every month. He’s averaging 17.1 PPG and 10.0 RPG all by himself. Dray and Loon COMBINED are 14.1 PPG and 15.2 RPG. And if PHX is healthy, they’ve got plenty of perimeter scorers and guys who can drive, and that makes Ayton potentially more impactful than a better interior player without the perimeter support.
PHX also has McGee as a backup. He’s no problem vs. Dray + Loon, but when rest, injuries, fouls, etc. take one or both of them off the floor, he’s better than anyone we can sub in. It’s not so much Dray & Loon I worry about, it’s the NEXT guy on the depth chart.
Fair. But I still don’t see Ayton killing you down low, just me though
That’s a fair comment. I guess the way I see it, IF we are firing on all cylinders, yeah, we can probably overcome talented big men. But small-ball is intense and requires depth as well as talent. I still believe the main reason Houston didn’t beat us when Chris Paul got hurt for games 6 & 7 is not so much that he was such a stellar talent, it’s just that Houston’s Playoff-playable rotation dropped from 7 to 6 (maybe from 8 to 7?) and we just wore them out. The converse applied to us when we were without Iggy in games 4 & 5. Sure we missed his undeniable talent, but we missed his 15 Playoff minutes a game even more.
This year, IF we stay healthy, we’re very deep in the 6’7″ and shorter range, but we haven’t stayed healthy very well. Klay, Dray, OPJ, Beli, Iggy, GPII, DLee, Wiggs, now Steph. If we can get everyone BUT Wiseman healthy for the Playoffs, then maybe. But if our rotation shortens up in number as well as height, guys like Towns, Ayton, AD, Gobert, and Jokic all will be problematic.
The only problem with your comment is that you are completely wrong. They did pursue Front Court help. But, they are restricted by their Salary Cap. Most of them, they couldn’t afford. The ones they could afford chose to sign elsewhere. And don’t bring up some G-League player. If they were NBA caliber, they would already be in the NBA.
What center did they pursue?— Nobody very hard. There would have been some word if not success.
Indeed you are right. If they made any effort at all, they kept it VERY quiet. With Woj and other well-connected reporters sniffing around, it’s rare for such efforts to go completely unnoticed. There were unrestricted FAs around that were signable for the vet minimum, so it’s not as if they had to negotiate any complex trades.
My prediction – He will never play another minute w GSW, get’s dealt in the offseason.
He was never a fit for the motion offence anyways, they sell him for .60 cents on the dollar for immediate help w No regrets….The pick fell off a truck anyways, no harm
Well Cap’n. Please come up with a trade that works.
I agree they’ll definitely look — IDK how low they’ll be willing to go. I thought they should have moved him last summer if possible but they seem very dedicated to this “next generation” of their team.
Also, they might look at it like — “Draymond’s back is iffy, he’s already moving into his media career; Klay may or may not regain his full form; and now Steph has another foot injury. Is there still a viable window for us to win now?”
Should’ve drafted LaMelo like ownership wanted
At this point I would be thrilled if they had taken Halliburton.
Me, too. They could have swapped DOWN in the Draft and still gotten Haliburton, plus another pick or player (for the TPE they eventually used on Oubre) in compensation.
@Tacosmells Ownership wanted Myers to draft Wiseman. Drafting Bell would have forced the Warriors into trading a bunch of trades that would have lead them to nothing.
The problem is not who the Dubs drafted at #2. The problem is that they DID draft at #2. Considering their talent / injury situation in 2021 and beyond, they’d have been far better off drafting for nearer-term impact (e.g., Haliburton) and getting draft or player capital in compensation.
There was no way to know that Hali would fall all the way to #12, but there were other decent options that deep (Vassell, Lewis, Anthony, Stewart). From SAC, I’m betting we could have gotten two of Beli, Holmes, and their (protected) 2021 Pick. Beli + Holmes both would have fit in the TPE we had at the time.
Sake of argument, let’s say we get SAC to part with their 2020 #12, Holmes, and and their 2021 FRP protected 1-8 for our #2, maybe we have to throw in a SRP or two. We take Hali in 2020, and we get their #9 overall in 2021, where we take Mitchell or Duarte. So instead of Wiseman & Oubre, we wind up with Holmes, who is a decent starter, certainly a strong backup at C, Haliburton, and Mitchell. I’ll take it.
In hindsight I agree but Melo at the time was considered a pretty big question mark.
They probably figured even if Wiseman doesn’t fit perfectly they could flip him … still might be able to but he’s probably going to have to come back and play for a few.
LaMelo and his father did not fit into the Warriors makeup at the time
Willie Cauley-Stein is available.
I’d trust him spending a few Minutes trying to guard Jokic, Towns, or Gobert in a first round playoff matchup instead of Bjelica.
How many Points did Towns score on us in the last game that we played them?
Hmmm…I wonder why Willie Cauley-Stein is available? You really think he can stop Towns? I think the league has seen enough of him to not give him a contract.
Well, another route is using one of our 2-Way Contracts on a GLeague big man.
– Freddie Gillespie, Shevon Thompson, Daniel Oturo, or MFiondu Kabengele could be Signed and at least offer some SIZE backing up Looney.
Bjelica can’t guard anyone.
The FO needs to give up on this idea of him being able to guard Jokic, Towns, or Gobert in the First Round of the playoffs.
The team needs SIZE more now than they need to hang onto either Chiozza or Quindary. I know we are down Curry but the thought of Chiozza getting extended Minutes backing up Poole is as scary as Bjelica continuing to get the backup Center minutes.
Not sure if WCS or Kanter would be Eligible to play in the Playoffs though, but still could help us get through the last 12 Games of the season.
WCS would not be eligible, as the Sixers waived him after March 1.
While Freedom would be eligible, I don’t think he’s who you want if you’re looking for defense
FYI: Cauley-Stein WAS released after March 1, but he was on a 10-day contract at the time, so he didn’t have to pass through waivers, which means he’s still playoff-eligible.
My bad. Thanks for the correction
Just because they are tall doesn’t mean they have any talent, or can play defense. The Celtics play the same defense as the Warriors. The Celtics got rid of him because he couldn’t play defense. So, why sign him? Chamberlin, easily the greatest Center of all time, only feared one other Center, Wes Unseld, and he was 6’7″.
All true …. not expecting Quality returns at this point, more just a Minutes-Eater that can dish out 6 Fouls.
Consider this, what if Looney gets injured in our next game?
The thinking this whole time is that we can’t assume Loon will stay healthy all season or in these last 12 games. We have been lucky has has stayed healthy.
Without Looney, we are staring at Bjelica, Otto, or JTA trying to play Center.
Warriors motto has been “Strength in Numbers” but that doesn’t seem to apply to our Center position this year.
@GangGreen Ummm…I don’t know what to say to that. Any Center that fouls out of every game is a horrible Center. Any Center that commit 6 fouls a game is a Defensive liability. You are giving up 18 points a game. Why do you want to do that?
18 or 12 points?
But fine, if Looney gets Injured good luck slowing down any playoff team’s Center with Bjelica or JTA playing the non-Draymond center minutes.
Towns just scored 40 easy points on us a week ago because we had no one putting up resistance behind Looney. Why not try and make him work a little harder to get his Points? He might just get worn down a little bit by the 4th Quarter. He was licking his chops seeing Bjelica and Kuminga asked to guard him.
Anyways, it’s late now to add any player. Just bubble-wrap Looney and pray he can get through these last 12 games unscathed.
Yes, it is 18 points, probably more. When you have a Center that is so confused that they foul out every game, you are talking shooting fouls. Employing the kind of Center you like means giving up the paint. There is no such thing as a minutes eater in basketball. You are giving up way to much.
Switching gears – whom do you like in the upcoming Draft ?
With Wiseman’s unreliability and Looney’s being a Free Agent, they might be Forced to Draft a Big Man.
I could see the see College centers lasting until our Range at the end of the First Round:
For rim-protection:
– Arizona’s Christian Koloko
For rebounding:
– Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe
For low post scoring:
– Illinois’ Kofi Cockburn
For a little bit of everything:
– Michigan’s Hunter Dickinson
What’s your preference?
I don’t know these guys well, but as long as Draymond is our starting PF, we will benefit from a Center with shooting range to space the floor.
Average or better defense and rebounding, acceptable 3PT%, and ideally enough of an inside game to punish smaller players, even if not a threat against other bigs. Anything else is gravy.
That’s an over-generalization. Let’s say a guy puts in 24 min against Towns, picks up 4 fouls, two non-shooting, zero and-ones. That’s 8 foul shots, maybe 6 point for Towns. If he limits Towns to sub-par performance on all the plays where he doesn’t foul, I call that a damn good contribution. True, the fouls move us into the penalty that much sooner, but 6 fouls spread over 4 Quarters is not a killer.
Better question, can anybody really stop Towns ot Jokic?
With Dray back, Wiseman was not going to play a ton … He has a 21M$ TO for the next 2 years so he probably get traded
As usual, you are one confused person. Is your life really that empty; why did you make such an effort. Who is going to trade for Wiseman? To take on a 2 year contract, they have to believe he will improve. So, if Wiseman is going to improve, why would you want to trade him?
Not being injured is Wiseman only goal then you think about improving cause there is a lot to do …GSW FO have a lot of contracts ti resign to build a championship roster so maybe Wiseman will be dealt for someone who can really help Curry to win again…
Looked up meniscus surgery and injury. Really didn’t know it. Thought it was a muscle, oh well.
It says it can be lingering. And can have setbacks as it heals. And that surgery is not always the best route.
I’m a Wiseman fan. So first, I wish him well and hope he heals. But it’s getting late. Really it’s already late. I don’t see him helping this yr. Even if he comes back for playoffs. How much can you expect. Except for another body maybe. And why chance his game on that.
Warriors should be scouting all bigs. Must be a decent one in G-league. That can give you 10-15 mins.
Right now I’d be Monitoring Monroe on 10day contract with Bucks. With Lopez back he probably will be let go. Definitely chk him out.
Seriously AL? I don’t know whether to applaud you or call you an idiot. People have been tearing there Knee Meniscus for decades. It leads to knee and hip replacements. You took the time to look it up. Some of these douchebags will call Wiseman a bust, then they will wind up having the same surgeries. It what happened to Brandon Roy.
I guess I must be and idiot.
Cause Roy’s cartilage was worn out. It’s not what Wiseman has. And why would I care or know who’s had knee or hip replacements you AH. They day I need one is the day I’ll Learn about it. Until then you can enlighten me.
Meniscus is cartridge. Meniscus doesn’t grow back.
Time for Klay to give a better idea than to buy a new washing machine. I can’t understand why the warriors didnt recruit a big man. Looney is a good back up but they need a starter…and if they really believe that looney is a starter pivot, they need someone that can play the position in his absence.
@boriuca Ummm…Yeah…Ummm…You really believe the Warriors didn’t figure that out from the beginning. Name a player.
@GangGreen I haven’t done a lot of research into that. Koloko sounds interesting. But, one player that I am really intrigued by is Michael Foster Jr. I think he might be an under the radar player. He plays for the g-league Ignite. He seems like a Power Forward that can shoot the 3. Yannick Nzoa is another player that might available for the Warriors.
Greg Oden
What about Greg Oden? Different injuries.
We want Tacko !!!