SAN FRANCISCO — Breaking the huddle inside the cramped gymnasium tucked inside the Detroit Pistons’ posh hotel, James Wiseman’s seven-foot frame strode toward a group of reporters on the sideline on Friday before he slunk against the wall, slid down to the court, and began to remove his bright green sneakers.
Hours later, Wiseman’s name was set to be announced over the loudspeakers across town at Chase Center, where the former No. 2 overall pick will play his first game against the team that drafted him, failed to develop him, and then sent him packing almost 11 months ago, to the day.
If there was any ounce of resentment, any inclination to exact revenge on the court later that night, it didn’t come across from Wiseman, whose youthful face offered a reminder that he still is only 22 years old, wearing his hair in the same messy afro he had when the Warriors traded him to Detroit last February.
“It’s a business,” Wiseman said, crouched on the ground. “It feels good just to be back in San Francisco. Everything about it, it’s good.”
Despite a change of scenery, much about Wiseman, like his hair, remains the same.
His potential is as tantalizing as ever.
Accessing it hasn’t proven any easier.
“The number one thing that’s stuck out about him is he wants to learn. And he’s a worker. I think he has potential to be great because of the way he works, the way he asks questions,” said Mark Bryant, a Pistons assistant who works with their big men.
“Just like any other young guy, the game has to slow down for him. … I’m impressed with the way he works and the way he goes after things. The game’s just got to slow down for him now.”
Wiseman’s three seasons with the Warriors were derailed by injuries and expectations, limiting him to only 60 games while recovering from a torn meniscus and shuttling between San Francisco and G League Santa Cruz.
But the trade to Detroit, one of the NBA’s worst teams, was supposed to provide a fresh start. He played in 24 games following the trade, starting 22 of them, averaging 12.7 points and 8.1 rebounds in the most playing time of his career, 25.2 minutes per game.
This season, under new coach Monty Williams, however, Wiseman has taken a back seat in a crowded front court.
When Bryant finished addressing the group, he raised a fist in the air, where it was met by Wiseman’s and three others.
There were Isaiah Stewart and Jalen Duren, two big men younger and drafted later than Wiseman who make up the Pistons’ starting front court, and Marvin Bagley, the fellow No. 2 overall pick (from 2018) who beat out Wiseman for the final spot in the rotation, leading to him racking up 10 “DNP – Coach’s Decision” in their first 20 games.
With Stewart out for the sixth straight game, Wiseman should see more action than the teams’ first meeting in Detroit, when he played 10 minutes and missed all three attempts from the field in a 120-109 Golden State win.
But for this season, he is averaging fewer minutes (14.6 per game) than he did with the Warriors (18.3). And in his limited opportunities, Wiseman has graded out as one of the worst players in the NBA, with his team being outscored by 15.6 points every 100 possessions he is on the court, 315th out of 322 players averaging 14 or more minutes per game.
“It’s almost like he’s still in his rookie year,” Bryant said, with how little Wiseman played over his three years with the Warriors.
His return so happens to coincide with reports this week of discontent among the Warriors’ other lottery picks, Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody, over their uncertain roles.
Kuminga, the seventh overall pick in 2021, sat out the final 18 minutes of Thursday’s 130-127 loss to the Nuggets, despite scoring 16 points on seven field goal attempts, while Moody, taken seven picks later, hasn’t played in more than a week.
Wiseman made it clear he believed he was in a better place for his development.
“Yessir,” he said quickly in response to the question. “Just being able to play, be out there and get reps in, I’m just blessed to be in this position. I’m trying to make the best of it. … I feel like on the defensive end I’ve grown a lot. Really, I’m just taking it day by day. It doesn’t matter the jersey. It’s basketball at the end of the day, so I’m just trying to get better. I don’t care about the other stuff.”
Beyond that, Wiseman wasn’t in the mood for reflection.
One of six lottery picks from 2020 not to sign a rookie extension, Wiseman will be a free agent after this season.
Asked for his opinion on why it didn’t work out in Golden State, he offered few words in response.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t know why.”
One spot below Wiseman on the list of worst net ratings is Jordan Poole, who was shipped to Washington over the offseason. Ahead of Poole’s return to Chase Center last month, coach Steve Kerr said he expected him to be fired up because, “you want to put on a good show and remind your old team what they’re missing.”
Wiseman, who has been embroiled in a 3-31 season, had something else in mind.
While he said he’s kept in touch with “really everybody” from his time with Golden State, he hadn’t heard from any of his former teammates ahead of their matchup.
“I can’t wait to see them. But at the same time I want to win,” Wiseman said. “I’m trying to get a win for the team. We’ve been having a lot of hard times on this stretch, so we’re just trying to get a win. That’s what I’m worried about.”