Detroit Pistons: 2 careers James Wiseman wants to avoid
Jahlil Okafor
Like Freedom, Okafor was the 3rd pick in the 2015 NBA Draft and is already out of the league.
I always said that Okafor would have been an All-Star had he played in the 1990’s, when back-to-the-basket post play was still en vogue. Okafor is a bucket around the rim, and if the game only involved post scoring, he’d still have a job.
He averaged 17.5 points, seven rebounds and 1.2 blocks in his rookie season and it looked like the 76ers had found their center.
Unfortunately for Okafor, that was the peak of his career and it was all downhill from there, mostly because his defense wasn’t good enough to justify keeping him on the floor. The 76ers traded him away after only his 2nd season and he bounced around the league until he landed on the Detroit Pistons.
He never averaged more than eight points a game after his rookie season and Okafor is now one of several ex-Pistons lingering in the G-League.
Freedom and Okafor weren’t just limited defensively, they weren’t good screen setters, passers and were never able to extend their range, three criticisms you also hear about Wiseman.
Wiseman arguably has more raw talent than either Freedom or Okafor, but they should be cautionary tales to him, as they too were once thought as elite offensive prospects. But they weren’t able to defend enough to stay in the league, which is the fate he wants to avoid.
The talent is there and James Wiseman will get a full offseason to improve and a full season to prove he’s not just another big man who can score.