The Golden State Warriors' “foundational six,” as Steve Kerr calls them, comprise arguably the best mix of talent and cohesion among any group of core rotation players in basketball.
No one threatens defenses like Stephen Curry and no one impacts offenses like Draymond Green. Andrew Wiggins might be the NBA's best two-way role player on the wing. Klay Thompson is an ideal floor-spacer and complementary scorer, with functional versatility as a one-one-defender. Jordan Poole makes the Warriors' unique offensive attack even more flammable, while Kevon Looney fortifies one of the league's most flexible, disruptive defenses.
Kerr doesn't just single those guys out from the rest of the roster because they'll be most responsible for Golden State's success in 2022-23, though. The Warriors also revamped their bench this summer, letting key reserves walk to save money against the luxury tax and free up rotation time for a trio of prized recent lottery picks.
Donte DiVincenzo and JaMychal Green will surely find a role with Golden State even if neither scrapes his previous ceiling. Cagey veterans who provide scheme and positional malleability on both sides of the floor almost always carve out a niche under Kerr. Where does that leave Moses Moody, Jonathan Kuminga and James Wiseman? Earmarked for minutes once the 82-game grind tips off in mid-October, but needing to prove themselves before joining that “foundational six” when the Warriors' title defense begins in earnest come spring.
Here's the player most likely to lose his rotation spot for Golden State in 2022-23.
1 Warriors player in danger of being benched in 2022-23
James Wiseman
Go ahead and forget the hype that made Wiseman the No. 2 overall selection of the 2020 draft, between future superstars Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball. He hasn't lost his prototype size, explosive athleticism or budding shooting chops, but Wiseman's admittedly brief time on the court since then has laid bare the deficiency that could define his game for years to come.
Playing on a team whose strategic identity subsists on feel, precision and processing speed, Wiseman lacks palpable degrees of it all.
He's not a good screener. He's sometimes oblivious to back-line defensive rotations. His hands are still developing as a rebounder and lob-catcher. He's not attentive enough to angles and spacing on either end of the floor. He hasn't shown any ability to make plays for his teammates while operating with the ball.
All of those improvement areas are correctable, not to mention understandable for a 21-year-old who's been limited to 42 total games—three in college and 39 with the Warriors, all as a rookie—dating back to his freshman season at Memphis in 2019-20. Wiseman would be entrenched as a starter for rebuilding teams, putting up gaudy box score numbers while honing the nuances of basketball at its highest level.
Maybe Kerr can manufacture that learning environment in 2022-23. The Warriors don't need to push for as many wins as possible during the regular season, prioritizing rest and individual development while keeping a passing eye on the standings. Bench units spearheaded by a heavy dose of high ball screens between Wiseman and Poole could be extremely dangerous if they manage to defend at an acceptable level.
Spamming spread pick-and-roll goes against Kerr's ethos, but Wiseman needs all the developmental burn he can get. Joe Lacob, notorious for his staunch belief in Wiseman and his team's young core, definitely wouldn't mind Golden State peering ahead to the future, and it's not like the Warriors were above relying on Curry ball screens against the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals.
If Wiseman pops occupying that artificial role, the likelier it is he'll be reliable enough to duplicate it alongside Curry or Poole in the playoffs. The problem is that it's just so hard to believe the former top-five pick has any realistic chance of forcing his way into a bigger one when the games start to really matter.
Green spent nearly half of the Warriors' non-garbage-time playoff possessions last season at small-ball center, per research at Cleaning the Glass. Modern-day death lineups aren't going anywhere. Looney played the best basketball of his career in the postseason, shoving his way back into the starting lineup after being benched against the hyper-athletic Memphis Grizzlies, then holding his own as a switch defender matched up with the likes of Luka Doncic and Jayson Tatum.
Wiseman said all the right things this summer about taking cues from Looney, focusing on the minutiae that helped quickly turn the eighth-year pro from liability when last season tipped off to pillar once it was over. That's a start. Wiseman won't ever be the star some still believe he will unless he becomes a valuable role player first.
But Wiseman certainly won't be better than Looney at that type of grunt work this season, and JaMychal Green's late-summer signing theoretically allows the Warriors to stay big on defense and spaced-out on offense if Looney ever gets played off the floor. Kuminga could grab a place in the crunch-time five by season's end and run with it, too. He's a much better fit next to Curry, Thompson, Wiggins and Draymond in late-game situations than Wiseman stands to be, as are Moody and DiVincenzo.
Wiseman's organizational equity as a No. 2 overall pick and ever-intriguing blend of physical tools and ball skills guarantee him a rotation slot for Golden State's pro forma regular season. It's way too early to give up all hopes of him developing into an impact starter, ugly rookie season and up-and-down Summer League notwithstanding.
The Warriors can't afford to let him play through postseason growing pains, though, and Wiseman did little in Las Vegas to prove he'll soon be ready for high-leverage minutes against elite competition. Perhaps that's changed by the time the regular season is finished; he's far too gifted and not nearly experienced enough to guarantee otherwise. If not, though, Wiseman seems poised to watch another Golden State title run from the bench, just like last season.
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