Draymond defends Wiseman’s early Summer League showing originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
Count Draymond Green as a big believer in the potential of Warriors center James Wiseman.
Wiseman, the Warriors’ first-round pick in 2020, has experienced highs and lows over his first two games in the Las Vegas Summer League as he makes his return to the court after missing all of last season.
“We got the big fella back out there, James Wiseman,” Green said on Thursday’s episode of his podcast. “I think Wiseman looks very good out there, especially with all things being considered.
“James Wiseman really hasn’t played basketball since, like, 2018. Because if you think about it, he played, what, [three] games his year at Memphis and he sat the rest of the year. He played like [40] games his rookie year in the NBA, missed the rest of that year. And then, obviously, missed all of last year and now he’s just now getting back.”
In Wiseman’s debut, he threw down a thunderous alley-oop from Jonathan Kuminga on the Warriors’ first trip down the court. But he finished with just two rebounds in 20 minutes, a fact that Green didn’t gloss over.
“I know there was a lot of talk around the first game, ‘Oh, he had two rebounds.’ Don’t get me wrong, that was the first thing I looked at too. Wise, you can’t have two rebounds.
“Rebounding is a timing thing. Rebounding is not just I’m tall, I’m long, I can jump, I’m athletic. Rebounding is timing. And for someone that hasn’t played basketball since 2018 … your timing is probably messed up because that’s four years and change of not consistently played basketball. … I would never excuse James Wiseman having two rebounds, nor do I think James Wiseman would excuse it.”
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In Wiseman’s second game, he finished with six points on 3-of-9 shooting but was better on the glass, grabbing seven boards.
“I thought his showing out there on the court has been solid,” Green said. “Are there some things you’d want to correct? Absolutely. There are things I’d want to correct about myself on the basketball court.
“Just his journey back, I’m just happy to see him out there doing what he loves to do again and have an opportunity to play basketball.”
Wiseman reportedly is expected to suit up again Friday night for the Warriors’ Summer League tilt against the No. 2 overall pick Chet Holmgren and the Oklahoma City Thunder. He’ll get another chance to improve his rebound timing, and Green likely will be watching closely.
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