© Mark J. Rebilas | 2021 Mar 4
We knew it was a source of tension on Warriors Twitter, but the debate on how to use James Wiseman has also led to some disagreement within the halls of Warriors HQ.
That’s the most recent report via ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, who said on the “Brian Windhorst & Hoop Collective” podcast that members of the Warriors organization are not on the same page regarding the rookie’s playing time, which has vacillated this season.
“There is a source of organizational tension on the way that they’ve used Wiseman this year,” Shelburne said (H/T NBC Sports for the transcription). “There’s some people in the organization that really want them to put James Wiseman out there more. Not necessarily with the benching and all that, that’s a separate matter. But just putting him out there more. Letting him play through mistakes, letting him play more minutes, heavier minutes like the other two rookies even though the Warriors are trying to contend for the playoffs.
“There is this sense of the faster you can get James Wiseman up to speed, the faster he can learn and grow from his mistakes within the system — with Draymond as his big brother mentoring him on the court, off the court … the better the franchise is going to transition.”
The Warriors have at times, seemed to be caught between two minds with Wiseman, unable to decide if they want to play him heavy minutes at the expense of chasing wins. Wiseman has played in more than half the game (24 mins plus) in just 11 of his 29 appearances this season, 14 times playing less than 20 minutes. He was also removed from the starting lineup on January 25, a move that really hasn’t moved the needle in terms of Golden State’s overall performance.
Shelburne said the Warriors are trying to figure out how keep their championship window open while they transition to building around Wiseman, something Steve Kerr’s mentor, Greg Popovich, has done for decades with the Spurs.
“The Spurs always re-invented themselves,” Shelburne said, “They always brought up new young players and it went from David Robinson to Tim Duncan to Tony Parker to Kawhi Leonard. They always had this succession plan, and they were very good at executing it. I think that’s what the Warriors are trying to do now.
“They really believe in James Wiseman, they really do. They believe he’s going to be a future All-Star, they believe he’s going to be a future pillar of the franchise.”
