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Detroit Pistons 2020 Draft Profile: Memphis’ James Wiseman

By Blake Stackpoole

PORTLAND, OREGON - NOVEMBER 12: James Wiseman #32 of the Memphis Tigers and Anthony Mathis #32 of the Oregon Ducks battle for position during the second half of the game at Moda Center on November 12, 2019 in Portland, Oregon. Oregon won the game 82-74. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)
PORTLAND, OREGON - NOVEMBER 12: James Wiseman #32 of the Memphis Tigers and Anthony Mathis #32 of the Oregon Ducks battle for position during the second half of the game at Moda Center on November 12, 2019 in Portland, Oregon. Oregon won the game 82-74. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images) /
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James Wiseman #12 of USA Team (Photo by Sam Forencich/USA BAsketball)
James Wiseman #12 of USA Team (Photo by Sam Forencich/USA BAsketball) /

Wiseman’s weaknesses

The major weakness for Wiseman is his limited sample size due to his NCAA career being three games.

This could only a temporary problem as the NBA Combine could allow him to remind the NBA why he was the consensus No. 1 recruit coming into this season. Darius Garland got injured at Vanderbilt and his stock crashed until he flew back up the draft board up to the 5th position after excellent workouts and combine.

Obviously, there is film of him in high school but as seen by the recent re-emergence of the Kevin Knox High School mixtape, it’s a lot easier for player’s to look incredible against high school talent than it is those at a professional level.

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This also happened to Michael Porter Jr, where he was seen as one of the purest scorers in recent NBA Draft memory, but his stock plummeted due to his back injuries while at Missouri.

This brings Wiseman’s NBA readiness into question. With such a large frame, he certainly won’t have trouble physically matching up against players. The issue may be if he’s able to properly utilize his talents in the right moments.

The other weakness for Wiseman is his limited offensive game. Similarly, to many other players in today’s NBA, Wiseman’s game is being phased out of the NBA. The traditional center’s value is at an all-time low as teams like the Houston Rockets have opted for no center at all.

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Wiseman is a force to be reckoned with in the paint, but he has almost no jumper, making him obsolete as the league moves forward.

The Rockets’ experiment could end up not working and I would argue that there’s a need for a player like Wiseman and his rookie contract is the correct value, not the $25-30 million that Andre Drummond would have asked for.