Draymond Green is familiar with the Golden State Warriors, James Wiseman and the Detroit Pistons, which makes the Saginaw native uniquely positioned to understand Thursday’s deal at the NBA trade deadline involving all three entities.
And thanks to Green, he provided unmatched intel Thursday on Wiseman and the wild day in the league during the latest episode of his video podcast, “The Draymond Green Show.”
Green, a four-time NBA champion who played four seasons at Michigan State, spoke fondly of Wiseman — “Jimmy Wise,” he calls him — and provided insight on the young man who turns 22 in March.
“Not an ideal start to your NBA career. Not ideal at all,” Green, 32, begins.
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“Being moved to the Detroit Pistons gives James an opportunity to restart that. And I think that’s such a beautiful thing. I feel like, in this trade, James Wiseman gets what he needs, the Warriors got what they need. James Wiseman needs to go somewhere where he can play, where he can get minutes and reps, and he’s not expected to compete at a championship level. … It’s happened for him in going to Detroit, where you’re with a bunch of other young guys whose gonna make a ton of mistakes, and you just get to play through those mistakes and learn from those mistakes because as we know in life, experience is life’s greatest teacher. So for James Wiseman to go to a situation where he will have the opportunity to play and play through mistakes, it’s great for him, because he’s super talented, super skilled, just haven’t had the reps.”
Green mentions Wiseman played just three games in college, at Memphis, then 39 games his rookie season with the Warriors. Wiseman missed all of last season recovering from a knee injury, and has played in 21 Warriors games so far this season, while also getting some G League run. That’s 60 NBA games over the past 2½ games.
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“How do you get the reps? How do you see that picture that everyone wants to see, that development that everyone wants you to see if you never get the reps. Yeah, you can watch as much film as you want, but you need the reps.
“You’re a champion, you’re going to a situation where you’ll have the opportunity to play or you’ll have the opportunities to get better. And I would just say man, go into with an open mind, go into it hungry, understanding that I got a new beginning and I got new life, and take that energy from that, and go and be who James Wiseman was expected to be coming out.”
Thanks to a Twitter user who cut up Green’s reaction into a 2-minute, 17-second video, included below.
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Wiseman was the No. 2 overall pick by Golden State in the 2020 draft. Interestingly enough, Pistons general manager Troy Weaver ranked Wiseman as the No. 1 player in the draft that year, over Anthony Edwards (No. 1 pick) and LaMelo Ball (No. 3). The Pistons had the seventh pick and took Killian Hayes (over another point guard Tyrese Haliburton, who fell to No. 12).
It’s unclear when Wiseman might make his Pistons debut, but he won’t play Friday vs. San Antonio. The Pistons then visit Toronto on Sunday and play in Boston on Wednesday.
Yes, the Pistons are 14-42, tied for the most losses in the NBA with 26 games, or one-third, left in the season. At least this move makes the rest of the Pistons’ regular season a touch more interesting. Wiseman joins a crowded, young frontcourt with overlapping skills. Jalen Duren (19 years old), Isaiah Stewart (21), Marvin Bagley III (23) and now Wiseman will be competing for minutes between power forward and center.
Weaver has sure invested a ton of resources into bigs. We’ll see what happens and if his unique perspective pays off. The results of his “restoring” thus far are mixed.
You can watch Green’s show below; he starts with his take on the Kevin Durant to Phoenix Suns blockbuster. He talks about the Warriors’ trade of Wiseman at the 14:49 mark.
Catch “The Pistons Pulse” every Tuesday morning at 5 and on demand on freep.com or wherever you listen to podcasts. Our latest show, embedded above, reacts to the James Wiseman deal and provides unique insight and discussion from our beat writer Omari Sankofa II and analyst Bryce Simon (known as MotorCityHoops). Catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.