After joining the rebuilding Pistons, Wiseman got a lot of opportunities to express himself. At the beginning of joining, he performed well to make the team feel excited. Pistons longmen Isaiah Stewart, Jalen Duren, and Marvin Bagley III were all unable to play due to injuries. This allowed Wiseman to average 26 minutes per game in the first 15 games he played for the Pistons, with data of 13 points, 9 rebounds, and 1 hot pot. , the hit rate is 55%…
After Wiseman put on the Pistons jersey, he averaged about 13 points and 9 rebounds per game. Although Wiseman was only traded to Detroit this year to get playing time, one thing has been confirmed from these games: “He is not a parallel importer.”
In the first two and a half years of his career, this center with a height of about 213 cm (7 feet) can often hear people discussing whether he is a “parallel importer” (a high-ranking player who cannot play value). After being picked in the second round, he has never been able to have a clear role positioning and has to fight for playing time.
Multiple disappointing performances made the Warriors decide to trade the 22-year-old potential stock. Before the trading deadline, the Warriors participated in a multi-party transaction, using Wiseman as a bargaining chip in exchange for the immediate combat power who once played for the Warriors-Gary Payton II.
Before joining the Warriors, Wiseman only played 3 games in the college league. He played a total of 60 games in the Warriors, and during this period he has not been able to integrate into the Warriors who are seeking to defend their title this year. Wiseman is still in the stage where he needs to accumulate experience, but the Warriors don’t have the patience to tolerate his mistakes.
After the transaction was completed, Warriors coach Steve Kerr said: “It is difficult for me to get Wiseman to a place where he can play. He has a very good attitude and a very positive spirit every day. In terms of talent and attitude In other words, he is exactly what everyone is looking for, but his needs are not compatible with the current situation of the club.”
After joining the rebuilding Pistons, Wiseman got a lot of opportunities to express himself. At the beginning of joining, he performed well to make the team feel excited. Pistons longmen Isaiah Stewart, Jalen Duren, and Marvin Bagley III were all unable to play due to injuries. This allowed Wiseman to average 26 minutes per game in the first 15 games he played for the Pistons, with data of 13 points, 9 rebounds, and 1 hot pot. , the hit rate is 55%.
The Pistons played against the Heat at the end of the season, and Wiseman’s performance that night may be the masterpiece of his career so far. He scored 22 points and 13 rebounds in the whole game, made 10 of 13 shots and hit the only three-pointer in his current professional basketball career.
Even if the current sample size is small, it should dispel any discussion that Wiseman is a parallel importer. At least he has proved that as long as he is given enough playing time, he can bring the team production value, and the famous parallel imports in history (for example: Anthony Bennett, the No. 1 pick in 2014, and Hasheem Thabeet, the No. 2 pick in 2009) cannot do this.
|
The first three seasons of NBA career |
scoring average |
rebounds per game |
hit rate |
|
Hasheem Thabeet |
2.2 |
2.7 |
54.7% |
|
Anthony Bennett |
4.2 |
3.1 |
38.8% |
|
James Wiseman |
10.6 |
5.8 |
54.4% |
Regarding Wiseman, Pistons coach Dwane Casey said: “He is very athletic, can run and rebound in the range of his ability, and knows how to use his strength to interfere with the opponent’s shooting, and also has Great feel on the ball, it surprises you every now and then during the game.”
The discussion of whether he is a parallel importer should be over, but what is worth discussing is whether the Warriors made a wrong move by abandoning Wiseman, who is only 21 years old and 213 cm tall, in exchange for immediate combat power.
If the Warriors can’t get another championship because of this trade, and if Wiseman develops into a star player who has been selected to the All-Star Game in the future, the Warriors will definitely be ridiculed for this operation. However, everyone should realize that Wiseman’s statistics in the Pistons cannot be regarded as ironclad evidence that the Warriors made wrong decisions.
Wiseman has been putting up solid numbers for the Warriors, so whether he can contribute to the team’s numbers has not been a matter of discussion. Even in the Warriors’ disappointing 2020-21 season, when he averaged less than 19 minutes per game, he still averaged 10 points and 5 rebounds per game.
His stats per 36 minutes for the Warriors are almost as good as he was in his first 15 games for the Pistons. Last December, when the Warriors played against the Nets, Wiseman scored 30 points in just 27 minutes and made 12 of 14 shots when most of the team’s starting players were unable to play.
Of course the Warriors know that if they give Wiseman enough playing time, he can put up good numbers, but the problem is that they can’t give him enough playing time. Plus, the Warriors didn’t look good overall when he was on the floor.
In the 262 minutes he played in the Warriors uniform this season, the Warriors’ net rating showed a huge drop–19.3 points per 100 possessions. That stat is as bad as it gets, and even though he usually plays with the bench, it’s not an excuse.
