James Wiseman Was the Right Pick in 2020 Draft
Ahead of the Warriors-Hornets matchup tonight, there’s been plenty of time between games for it to resonate that the Warriors will be playing against the player a lot of people wanted to take at #2 in James Wiseman’s place: Phenom LaMelo Ball. The pace-and-space dreams were something a lot of fans were high on ahead of the draft, but at the same time, there was a TON of rhetoric from Dubs fans about how LaMelo would be a bust and that he wouldn’t fit on the Warriors.
It’s interesting to see the narrative flip now that Wiseman is taking some time to develop and Ball is a Rookie of the Year winner (although it really should have been Anthony Edwards). Hindsight is always 20/20, and in actuality, LaMelo to the Warriors was an unpopular pick few wanted and that most people won’t admit they didn’t make. With all that said, it is far too early to make an indictment on the front office for not drafting Ball even though he looks like an immediate-impact player. People are forgetting that Wiseman is still an NBA-caliber player as well, a physical specimen who could get going very quickly with Golden State’s penchant for in-house development.
On LaMelo, let’s take a look at how well he fits in with the Warriors and examine the claim that he would have been an excellent pickup. LaMelo Ball is a 6’8, ball-dominant point guard who has a good eye for playmaking out of the pick and roll. He is also an incredibly average defender and a mid-tier shooter at 43/36/77. His value primarily clocks in at his passing (something the Warriors do not lack) and rebounding, but even then, there's plenty of questions about how the former would see itself manifest on the Warriors.
Charlotte, while one of the league’s highest-octane offenses captained by Ball, plays in a heliocentric scheme. The ball is in LaMelo’s hands constantly and his drives, shots, or passes are what set up scoring plays. The Warriors, in contrast, play a motion-heavy offense that requires a ton of offball movement, something LaMelo isn’t the world’s greatest at. He’s got the height to be a great rebounder at the point guard position, but questions about his frame and ensuing toughness down low are certainly valid ones.
Wiseman, however, is 7’1 and can jump out of the gym. He showed great effectiveness in the pick and roll, picking up most of the targets as the roll man because he’s the biggest guy on the team. He’s a lob threat and interior presence both ways that the Warriors have never had in the history of their dynasty. Too many people believe he’ll change the style of play that’s brought the Dubs such success, but realistically his role is going to be what Kevon Looney does now, but better: He’s agile around the perimeter, can take care of the rock as a ballhandler, shoots above 50% with a healthy diet of jumpers as well as dunks and layups, and can actually play above the rim.
Wiseman is the center the Warriors need, and it is far too early to have remorse that LaMelo Ball is not in his place. Ball’s development realistically wouldn’t have come on a soon as it did if he were in the backcourt in Golden State. Wiseman was the winning pick for right now, filling a positional gap that gives the Dubs some punching power on the inside and creating a presence that can impact the game in a multitude of ways that don’t revolve around being the dollar-store Steph Curry.
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