Warriors head coach Steve Kerr announced James Wiseman is getting sent down to Golden State’s G League affiliate in Santa Cruz for some more reps.
Kerr made the announcement on Monday following Golden State’s 132-95 win over the San Antonio Spurs. Wiseman played nine minutes and posted two points, two rebounds, and assists. He didn’t play in any of Golden’s Staes’ previous three games.
“Yeah, he going to go to Santa Cruz tomorrow, and we will keep him there for an extended period to get really good practice time and some games,” Kerr said per NBCS Warriors. “It’s not going to be one game and bring him back; we want to give him 10 straight days, something like that, and then come back.”
Steve Kerr said James Wiseman will go to the G-League tomorrow and stay down there for an extended time. Warriors want to get him reps. Said it could be 10 consecutive days or longer. pic.twitter.com/zIMOKAK8J6
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) November 15, 2022
Wiseman was expected to be a meaningful contributor on a Warriors team looking to prioritize winning and developing their young studs like Wiseman, Jonathan Kuminga, and Moses Moody. The former No. 2 played 39 games before he suffered a season-ending knee injury that forced him to miss the entire 2021-22 season.
Wiseman first played in the G League in March before the Warriors shut him down. This season, the former Memphis Tiger is averaging 6.8 points and 3.8 rebounds on 58.8 percent shooting from the field. When Jordan Poole was asked about Wiseman getting a G League assignment, the Michigan Man said he told Wiseman not to see it as a demotion or punishment.
Furthermore, Poole believes that Wiseman will be “a-okay” and that the G League assignment will allow Wiseman to get back into his bag and work on shots and moves he doesn’t get to utilize while being on the main roster.
Jordan Poole on James Wiseman going to the G-League (which Poole once did): “I told him it’s not a demotion. It’s not a punishment. He’s going to go down there and shoot as many shots as he wants, get as many touches as he wants, work on as many moves as he wants.” pic.twitter.com/ISivLSigjn
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) November 15, 2022
From a former player and coach’s perspective, Kerr knows it’s tough being a young player falling out of the rotation. However, the veteran coach has confidence that Wiseman will “find his way back to the rotation at some point.” Most of all, Kerr believes that the G League stint is “the best thing for him” since he’ll get “play a lot of minutes.”
“It’s really hard. It’s really hard for anybody to be in and out of the lineup, but for a young guy who’s been through a lot already, it’s a lot to go through,” Kerr said. “But this is part of his journey. Everybody’s got a different one. Part of his is he barely played any basketball before he got to the NBA, and he had a major injury. What I love about James is that he’s got incredible character, work ethic, and care for the team.
The Warriors will look to build on their latest win and build a winning streak when they play the Suns on Wednesday.
