Warriors' strategic shift on display when Wiseman returns

The idea of trading of James Wiseman, although a popular topic of debate, was rejected by the Warriors last summer because they already had made a decision about his future and it was tied to that of the entire franchise.

Moving Wiseman would have defied their shift in evolutionary strategy. Moreover, it would have been utterly illogical.

Feeling the heat of luxury-tax purgatory, the Warriors directed finances toward player development. They overhauled the staff, bringing in respected new faces, one of whom, Dejan Milojević, came over from Europe for a specific purpose: Make Wiseman an NBA star.

Why trade Wiseman a few weeks after making such a sizable investment in his future?

Now, eight months later, the 7-foot-1, 258-pound center is in the final stages of recovery from two knee surgeries. And we’ll soon see the early impact of the energetic coach known as “Dekki,” who was a three-time MVP player in Serbia before retiring in 2009.

Wiseman on Wednesday morning described Milojević as “tough, very tough,” which squares with his playing style as a rugged, 6-foot-7, 250-pound power forward.

“We be bodying each other, like one on one in practice,” Wiseman said after the team’s game-preparation shootaround. “We be going against each other. It’s fun. I have a great time with Dekki.”

Milojević is best known in American circles as the coach most responsible for the development of Nuggets center Nikola Jokić, the reigning NBA MVP and the most comprehensively skilled offensive center in the league.

It was that background that attracted the Warriors. They paid a handsome price to lure Milojević away from a head-coaching job from Serbia – where he had two years remaining on his contract – to be an assistant in California.

That’s testimony to how much the Warriors, executives and coaches and players, believe in the potential of Wiseman.

When Wiseman joined his teammates for a workout last week at Utah, the defensive assignment went to Juan Toscano-Anderson. He was, well, beyond impressed.

“James Wiseman is the toolbox,” Toscano-Anderson said Wednesday. “He has every tool in the box. He can do everything as a 7-footer. I just drool at his potential and his capabilities. He’s protecting the rim. He’s going up to dunk on lobs, pushing the ball in transition. Behind-the-back, step-back 3s.

“It’s like, man, bro, where does this come from? I wish I had all these capabilities.”

This is Wiseman, one year older (he turns 21 next month) and 20 pounds heavier than he was as a rookie last season. Entering the NBA with only 69 minutes of collegiate experience at the University of Memphis, he played only 39 games in his rookie season due to a couple injuries and league-mandated health and safety protocols.

Even as NBA fans raved about rookies Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball – with a segment of Warriors fans questioning the team’s decision to draft Wiseman No. 2 overall, while Ball went to Charlotte at No. 3 – Wiseman’s per-36-minutes averages provided a hint of the possibilities: 19.3 points (51.9 percent from the field), 9.7 rebounds and 1.6 blocks.

At age 19.

Though Milojević also works with Kevon Looney, the Warriors internally concede he was hired to round out Wiseman’s game.

“That’s fair,” coach Steve Kerr said earlier this season when asked if Milojević was, essentially, a personal coach for Wiseman. “He spends most of his time with James.”

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Wiseman, who longs to someday be mentioned in the same breath as Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett, is bright enough to understand that. It’s Dekki who pushes and pushes, who bumps and bangs, who stays in his ear and on his case.

“Post work, a lot of post moves,” Wiseman said, describing their regimen. “Ballhandling. Working on my playmaking. And really a lot of defensive drills and rebounding drills.”

There is no timeline for Wiseman’s return. The hope is that he can make his 2021-22 debut early next month.

Every word from the Warriors, top to bottom, on or off the record, has been positive about Wiseman’s progress – and the influence of Milojević. 

That, along with the tremendous progress of rookie Jonathan Kuminga, is indicative of a player-development staff, under the guidance of first-year director Jama Mahlalela, that is preparing the Warriors for the future.

Get used to it, folks. Wiseman is not going anywhere anytime soon. Nor should he.

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