Steve Kerr Gives Optimistic Update on Wiseman
Yesterday’s Warriors practice had a fair bit of news come out of it, with Klay Thompson confirming his desire to play tonight (he has since been upgraded from Questionable to Active) and Draymond Green getting some 3-on-3 runs in. Something that slipped a little under the radar, however, was Kerr giving a progress report on 2nd-year center James Wiseman.
Wiseman has been injured since late last season with a torn meniscus, and his timeline was delayed by a need to clean up scar tissue that had built up during his rehab process. The good news is that Big Jim has progressed to contact 5-on-5, which was the benchmark that the Warriors were able to use to give Klay Thompson a target time of return.
Kerr, after yesterday’s practice, had a few minutes of media availability, in which he addressed a question about the center’s rehab:
“His movement, his conditioning, it’s all really coming around. From a health standpoint, it’s really going smoothly, and that’s the biggest thing” Kerr told reporters.
From the practice videos that have been released, Wiseman has indeed looked every bit as solid as Kerr has said. He played about 20 minutes a game last season, which means the expectation for how much he’ll play this season won’t be much higher. He’ll need that conditioning going into the playoffs, although the Warriors head coach was also quick to ensure people didn’t get too ahead of themselves.
“What I will always keep circling back to is, that this guy needs reps. He needs a thousand reps, and he needs Summer League, training camp.” Kerr said. “Let’s temper the expectations, but be excited about his future because as he gets those reps, he’s got the potential to be a tremendous player.”
This was a good addendum to see from Kerr. Not just because it’s a reasonable take and Warriors fans should absolutely not be so quick to judge Wiseman from such a short span, but also because it gives us a good idea of how Wiseman is going to be utilized. A lot of the focus for his training in rehab outside from the obvious injury recovery, has been on “simplifying the game” for James. He’s obviously a gifted athlete and he’s shown some great flashes of what he’ll be able to do, but there’s still plenty to look forward to without being critical of the now.
Based on both the training philosophy for Wiseman and what Kerr said today, it’s likely the Warriors will be using him similar to how they had used Javale McGee and Marquese Chriss in the past. The expectations is he’ll set screens, catch lobs, and help on the weak-side. Those are all things which are reasonable to ask for, but also things that are simple and don’t require a ton of time on the court. The Dubs will probably continue that trend of having their 7-footers fill specific roles while reverting to small ball when things get particularly tougher.
While there’s currently no timeline for his return (as Kerr also mentioned during availability), James Wiseman is predicted to be back sometime this month just based on the timeline that’s been established in the past for injury recovery. There’s almost no chance he’s rushed back if only because the Warriors are in a good spot standings-wise, so either an on-time return or extended ramp-up period is expected.
(Photo credit: Golden State Warriors