Now that the 2019-20 season is officially over, teams are putting more emphasis on their plans for the next campaign, starting with the upcoming NBA Draft. In this respect, a number of league executives have identified 7-foot-1 Memphis freshman James Wiseman as a “safe” bet for most teams.
This report comes via Sam Vecenie of The Athletic:
A lot of executives I’ve spoken with actually consider Wiseman to be among the safer players in the draft. Simply put, few executives doubt that his size, length, athleticism will translate into being a starting quality NBA center. There the disagreement comes is whether or not he has star upside, something that is necessary for a team to be willing to take a center at the top of the draft in today’s day and age. Some think his defensive ability on the interior does bring that kind of upside. Others are less convinced. Ultimately though, I do think Wiseman is more likely to go somewhere in the top-five than just about any other prospect.
In NBC Sports‘ latest mock draft, Wiseman is projected as the second overall pick for the Golden State Warriors. He ranks second only to consensus first pick Anthony Edwards, who is projected to be selected at the very top of the NBA Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves.
This projection coincides with the above report, stating how Wiseman should be a shoo-in as a Top 5 pick. There have been previous reports about the Warriors not completely convinced about Wiseman's fit with the team, but even if they end up passing on the promising young big man, Wiseman is likely to still hear his name called early in the draft. For the record, the Charlotte Hornets are picking third, and they could sure use an upgrade in the center position.
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