Detroit Pistons: Is James Wiseman just another Marvin Bagley III?

The Detroit Pistons took a flyer on a perceived high-ceiling talent when they swapped Saddiq Bey and Kevin Knox for James Wiseman.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.

This strategy of buying low on potential impact talent has been one of the hallmarks of Troy Weaver’s time with the Detroit Pistons, as he took similar flyers on guys like Dennis Smith Jr., Josh Jackson, Kevin Knox and Marvin Bagley III.

Weaver revealed some of his mindset behind the trade, saying that the Pistons needed to get bigger and better defensively to keep up with the top teams in the Eastern Conference.

So far none of Weaver’s additions have really worked out, and this one was even riskier, as Weaver actually gave up a rotation player to acquire Wiseman, which was not the case with his previous first-round busts.

This is especially true when you consider that Wiseman’s defense was one of the things that kept him out of the Warriors’ rotation according to a recent interview with Warriors’ beat writer Anthony Slater of The Athletic (SUBSCRIPTION), who had this to say about why Wiseman wasn’t able to get on the floor for Steve Kerr’s Warriors:

"“It’s his defensive awareness,” Steve Kerr once said when asked what’s held him out of the rotation. “Offensively, we know he can score. The guy is always going to be able to score. Regardless of what happens in the short term, if he stays healthy, he’s going to have a good career and score a lot of points. But what we need is defensive awareness and the ability to patrol the paint, rim protect.”"

Kerr praised Wiseman as a supremely talented offensive player who has no “defensive awareness.” Sound familiar?

Detroit Pistons: Is James Wiseman another Marvin Bagley III?

There are a lot of superficial similarities between James Wiseman and Marvin Bagley III, as they were both highly touted prospects who were taken second in their respective drafts, picks that now look suspect in retrospect, as Bagley III was taken ahead of Luka Doncic (oops) and Wiseman was chosen before LaMelo Ball among others.

Both are very talented offensive players who have shown little defensively and are looking for a fresh start with new team. Both have also had checkered injury histories as Wiseman has already missed an entire season and MBIII hasn’t played more than 48 games since his first year in the league.

The big difference between the two is that Wiseman is just 21-years-old and has barely played. He only played three games for Memphis in college and has touched the floor just 60 times in his three-year NBA career, so there is little evidence of what he can really do.

Wiseman has also already shown more range as a shooter and better handles than MBIII, so he can be more offensively than just a guy who lives in the paint.

It is way too early to write Wiseman off as just a guy who can play offense and nothing else, and he’ll have his chance to prove himself for the Detroit Pistons, who plan on giving him big minutes and time to develop.