Detroit Pistons: James Wiseman wants to avoid these 2 careers
The Detroit Pistons took a flyer on James Wiseman in a trade this season and so far the results have been up and down.
He’s now played 20 games for the Pistons and in that time we have seen the flashes of talent that made him the #2 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, but also the limitations that made him available in a trade.
Wiseman has averaged 13.1 points, 8.5 rebounds and just under a block per game since joining Detroit and has shown a lot of potential on the offensive end.
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Detroit Pistons: James Wiseman can score, but…
The guy can score, that much we know, but the big question is whether he will ever be able to defend enough to really be an effective big in the modern NBA. The Warriors were high on his offensive ability but not so much on the other end according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic (SUBSCRIPTION REQUIRED):
"“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.”"
We’ve seen plenty of big men who can score but not defend over the years, the Detroit Pistons have another one now in Marvin Bagley III, who has a lot of similarities, though Wiseman is a better shooter.
Hopefully the Bagley III experiment is soon to be over, and if so, you could eventually put him on the list of careers James Wiseman wants to avoid. But there are two other players in recent memory who were great around the rim but never evolved enough to stay in the league.