James Wiseman's career with the Golden State Warriors has been, for lack of a better term, extremely disappointing. The former second-overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft has struggled immensely in his first few years in the league. Injuries haven't helped his development, but he hasn't looked like an NBA-ready talent when he took the floor.
Because of that, the Warriors have sent James Wiseman back to the G-League to help him acclimate to the professional level. That so-called “demotion” is helping Wiseman get rid of one of his biggest weaknesses: his mentality. He was able to produce well despite his errors in game. Wiseman himself recognizes this problem of his, and he told Connor Letourneau that's he actively working on this area of his game.
“If I make a mistake, I kind of get down on myself,” Wiseman said. “But that’s not going to help me. I’ve just got to make sure I use my professionalism.”
Wiseman has struggled mightily when he took the floor for the Warriors. Part of that is his lack of experience: one of the bigger knocks on him during the draft was that he didn't play that much during his college career. However, Wiseman also hasn't been able to work through his weaknesses due to the numerous injuries he's been dealing with.
The hope for the Warriors is that James Wiseman will eventually fill in the gaps in his game in his G-League stint. The potential is there for the center: he's got a great physical profile for the modern game, and he's shown flashes of his capabilities. We'll see how much he can improve over the next few months with Santa Cruz.