The day Warriors fans get to witness James Wiseman on an NBA court again remains unclear.
The prolonged recovery process continues for the 7-foot center, who underwent surgery in April 2021 to repair a torn right meniscus and another surgery in December 2021 that pushed back his recovery timeline.
And while Wiseman's status is still a big question mark, former Warriors center Festus Ezeli sees a bright future for the 20-year-old big man.
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SIGN UP HERE “James Wiseman is very skilled,” Ezeli explained to NBC Sports Bay Area’s Grant Liffmann on a recent Dubs Talk. “He’s a big man that can run the floor. He has a soft touch. He’s a good enough passer to fit into this Warriors system. And with all these things, I think there’s things that he has that you can’t teach.”
The No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft averaged 11.5 points and 5.8 rebounds in 21.4 minutes per game during his shortened 2020-21 season.
But his lengthy rehab has many wondering how Wiseman will fit into the current Warriors’ lineup.
“I see what everybody is saying,” Ezeli told Liffmann. “Trying to fit that into this Warriors’ system. That’s the part that’s going to take time. So with James Wiseman coming back, it changes a little bit of the style of how the Warriors play. Not only do they have to lob through it, but they also have to defend differently because now you have dropping and all these different things. He is a very skilled big man. His simplified role for him would be running the floor, setting great screens to get Steph [Curry] and Klay [Thompson] open for him because you always need a guy who could set good screens, and just playing defense, protecting the rim.”
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The Warriors, like many other teams in the league, have dealt with a series of major injuries, including that of Dubs’ sharpshooter Klay Thompson, who made his season debut on Jan. 9 after a 941-day absence.
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But like Ezeli said, it’s all about adapting.
“James Wiseman has a ways to go and coming back from an injury is never easy,” Ezeli said. “But he’s somebody with a huge upside which I really like. I like his game. He can play, man. Even watching him workout, I'm like 'Man, you have that in your bag too?' And he’s such a nice guy, you can’t help but root for him. Watching him work and him being such a hard worker, being coachable, I think he’s going to be OK in this league. I think he’s going to be very good for the Warriors. But right now, with what they have going on, it’s all an adjustment. And him coming back is going to be a learning process.”