Dub Hub: Does James Wiseman fit in with the Warriors’ new rotation?

Dec 1, 2022 - 4:23 PM

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Good Morning Dub Nation,

Despite narrowly losing to the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night, the Golden State Warriors had many positive takeaways from the game, including the performance of their second unit.

Aside from Stephen Curry, Golden State’s usual scorers in Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, and Jordan Poole struggled to get anything going as the three combined for 24 total points. However, the bench unit led by Donte DiVincenzo, Jonathan Kuminga, and Anthony Lamb played a big factor in keeping the team in it – a vast contrast from earlier in the season where the second unit was the cause of constant problems for the Warriors.

Draymond Green has played a critical role in revitalizing Golden State’s bench in recent games and discussed their improvement following Tuesday’s matchup.

With the Warriors’ 10-man rotation stabilizing into form, it will be interesting to see how head coach Steve Kerr handles the players who find themselves out of the rotation – specifically, former second-overall pick James Wiseman. Warriors reporter Kerith Burke discussed Wiseman’s fit on the team in her latest article for NBC Sports Bay Area.

Via NBC Sports Bay Area:

The Warriors believed Wiseman would be ready to be an impactful player this season in the second unit as a lob threat and rim-protector. Then it became obvious he needed more time and development.

If Wiseman is stuck in second gear while the Warriors are reaching cruising speeds, there is a risk he could be left behind. However, the front office tends to be patient with players. Their belief in Wiseman has remained steady and loud.

I don’t think it’s a foregone conclusion that the Warriors will trade Wiseman. But they have a problem on their hands, because the second unit finally looks good. How do they fold Wiseman back in? How much playing time is he really going to get when the Warriors turn to small ball to win?

Tim Kawakami of the Athletic dived deeper into this topic as he explained in his latest article why Wiseman has found himself out of the rotation.

Via the Athletic:

And right now, I’m getting 2020-21 clearing-house vibes from the early parts of this season. Wiseman struggled again and has been removed from the discussion. He’s still young, but early this season he looked like almost the same player he was as a rookie. He was hesitant, he was disconnected from the flow, he regularly ruined Curry’s minutes (which are valuable!) and the second unit was a debacle whenever Wiseman was out there.

If you think of Wiseman as a super-sized, far more talented version of Paschall … well, I don’t think that’s way off. At least in a Warriors context. There’s still time for Wiseman. He’s tremendously talented. He works hard. He’s only played 50 NBA games. But that’s part of the problem, too: He’s not adding to that total now because the Warriors can’t afford to have him make mistakes with them. I’m not sure when they ever will be able to afford it.

With Kuminga earning himself some minutes by adjusting his game to fit the Warriors’ style of basketball, it will be interesting to see if Wiseman can do the same when he returns from his time in the G-League.

Here are the rest of today’s stories:

In case you missed it from Golden State of Mind:

• Remember when the Warriors were bad last year?
• Steve Kerr says Tuesday was the ‘best game’ he’s ever seen Jonathan Kuminga play
• How Luka Dončić exploited the Warriors’ ‘Luka Rules’

Other Warriors News:

• Kawakami: Why Jonathan Kuminga is rising with the Warriors and James Wiseman and Moses Moody are not (The Athletic)
• Ask Kerith: How will Wiseman fit in with revamped second unit? (NBC Sports Bay Area)
• Steph Curry’s intense workout caused NBA player to puke, Brandon Payne recalls (NBC Sports Bay Area)
• Steph Curry clearly traveled and the Warriors are still consistently complaining about consistency (SB Nation)
• Joe Viray breaks down the Poole-DiVincenzo-Kuminga-Lamb-D. Green lineup (Twitter)

NBA News:

• Devin Booker’s 51-point gem leads to Suns’ 6th straight win, loud ‘MVP’ chants (ESPN)
• ‘He carried us’: Zion Williamson’s 33 points, defensive effort power Pelicans’ win (ESPN)
• New Orleans Pelicans forward Herbert Jones likes being ‘that dude,’ just not the one you’d think (Andscape)
• Shining lights: De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis working to build a brighter Kings future (Yahoo Sports)
• Tyrese Haliburton gave the best breakdown of his game-winning assist vs. Lakers (SB Nation)
• Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan haven’t spoken to each other in 10 years over something Charles said on air (Twitter)