Should the Detroit Pistons give James Wiseman an extension?

James Wiseman is coming off his best game for the Detroit Pistons, scoring 22 points and adding 13 rebounds in the loss to the Miami Heat.

His transition to Detroit has been up and down, as he his playing with a weird combination of players due to injuries and for some reason the Pistons keep trying to play him with Marvin Bagley III, an experiment that has not worked so far.

But James Wiseman on his own has shown flashes of what people thought he would be when he was drafted #2 overall in the 2020 NBA Draft. He is averaging 13.8 points and 9.3 rebounds since joining Detroit but has been even better in his last five games, getting 16.4 points, 11 rebounds and a block per game.

Wiseman is long, athletic and has great handles for a big man. He can score around the rim, has a passable jumper and can grab a rebound and go like he does here:

On plays like this, Wiseman looks like an athletic freak and the Detroit Pistons genius for trading Saddiq Bey for him.

But he still has major flaws, especially on defense, so is not a lock for anything, though the Detroit Pistons do have him under contract for next season. But what about beyond that?

Detroit Pistons: A James Wiseman extension

Wiseman is one of three Pistons that are eligible for rookie extensions this summer. None of them are locks, as the Isaiah Stewart at the four experiment has been up and down, Killian Hayes has been wildly inconsistent, and Wiseman hasn’t played enough to make a good assessment.

Wiseman’s ceiling is probably the highest, but he might also be the riskiest, as Hayes and Stewart are going to get role player money at best, while Wiseman has a chance to put himself in position for a huge raise with a breakout season.

Because of his draft position, Wiseman’s qualifying offer after next season would be upwards of $15 million per season. That doesn’t mean a team will offer him that, but if he puts up 16/10 next season and shows improvement on defense, that could end up being what it takes.

The Pistons may be smart to lock him into an extension now, as they could likely get a better deal given his lack of games played. Of course, that would represent a substantial risk, as he’s not yet shown that he can play NBA-level defense consistently, nor how he and Jalen Duren are going to co-exist on the same team.

Troy Weaver may be wary about giving another deal to a big man after the Marvin Bagley III contract debacle.

This is going to be an interesting offseason, as the Detroit Pistons can’t just run it back with the same team plus Cade Cunningham and expect dramatic improvement. The biggest decisions may be these extensions, as they could either be values for Detroit or lock them into further losing.