Detroit Pistons: Why the Wiseman trade looks even dumber now
Detroit Pistons: James Wiseman is not bad
In a vacuum, you can see why the Detroit Pistons wanted to take a look at Wiseman. He is 7-foot, 240-pounds, very athletic and was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.
He certainly has had his moments with Detroit, and averaged a very respectable 12.8 points and 8.1 rebounds in 24 games. He did this after picking splinters from sitting most of the season on the Warriors bench.
If Detroit was looking for a center, Wiseman, who just turned 22, would be a promising prospect to fill a need, but they are not looking for one.
Detroit already has a promising, even younger, big man: Jalen Duren, who has a similar skill set, was already in the Motor City and Bagley gets paid a lot to play the same position.
And let’s not even go into what happens if the Pistons do land 7-4 Victor Wembanyama. This trade then looks even worse, as one would expect he will immediately slide into the power forward starting spot.
light. Related Story. Detroit Pistons: Saddiq Bey wanted “insane” money
Saddiq Bey finding role in Atlanta
Bey quickly slipped into a nice role with the Atlanta Hawks. In 25 minutes a game, he is averaging 11.6 points (shooting an eye-popping 40-percent from three-point range) and 4.8 rebounds, as the Hawks prepare for the Play-in tournament.
While Saddiq Bey was much hyped during his time with the Pistons, first team All-Rookie, making the USA Select team, the 50-point game, fans need to remember he was the 19th overall pick in the 2020 draft (17 spots after Wiseman, 10 after Killian Hayes). And Bey played for a prominent college program at Villanova, so it is not like NBA scouts did not know him.
But playing on awful Pistons teams allowed him to stand out. If had been drafted by, say, Milwaukee, how much playing time he would have received early on is open to question.
In Detroit, Bey was part of a group of young players, along with Stewart, Hayes, Cade Cunningham and now Jaden Ivey, expected to lead the Pistons back to prominence.
Bey is not a saviour, he has not turned Atlanta into a powerhouse, but he is a good player, and plays a position that the Pistons are weak at. Next year, Detroit could use Bey more than Wiseman.
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