


Entering the NBA with only 69 minutes of collegiate experience at the University of Memphis, he played only 39 games in his rookie season due to a couple injuries and league-mandated health and safety protocols.Įven as NBA fans raved about rookies Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball – with a segment of Warriors fans questioning the team’s decision to draft Wiseman No. This is Wiseman, one year older (he turns 21 next month) and 20 pounds heavier than he was as a rookie last season. “It’s like, man, bro, where does this come from? I wish I had all these capabilities.” Wiseman on Wednesday morning described Milojević as “tough, very tough,” which squares with his playing style as a rugged, 6-foot-7, 250-pound power forward. And we’ll soon see the early impact of the energetic coach known as “Dekki,” who was a three-time MVP player in Serbia before retiring in 2009. Now, eight months later, the 7-foot-1, 258-pound center is in the final stages of recovery from two knee surgeries. Why trade Wiseman a few weeks after making such a sizable investment in his future? They overhauled the staff, bringing in respected new faces, one of whom, Dejan Milojević, came over from Europe for a specific purpose: Make Wiseman an NBA star. Moreover, it would have been utterly illogical.įeeling the heat of luxury-tax purgatory, the Warriors directed finances toward player development. Moving Wiseman would have defied their shift in evolutionary strategy. The idea of trading of James Wiseman, although a popular topic of debate, was rejected by the Warriors last summer because they already had made a decision about his future and it was tied to that of the entire franchise.
