Stephen Curry knows that Warriors rookie center James Wiseman was highly touted coming out of Memphis. The 7-footer went second overall and it seemed like a perfect fit for both parties.
However, Wiseman has been on the bench in crunch time more often than not. The youngster doesn't seem too concerned about not closing games for the Warriors. Wiseman addressed that on Tuesday.
From Drew Shiller of Warriors Outsiders:
“It's very difficult because I want to be out there, and I feel I can handle that. Staying humble, working hard. And I'm just waiting for coach to call my name.”
Wiseman doesn't seem too upset with how his minutes are being managed on the Warriors. Unlike the other top picks, he is on a team with win-now aspirations.
Steph Curry and Draymond Green will always be the guys for this season, and Andrew Wiggins and Kelly Oubre are essential locks for the lineup down the stretch. Unfortunately, that leaves Wiseman as the odd man out for the Warriors, especially with so many teams playing small-ball.
Wiseman has only played more than 20 minutes in half of the Warriors' 10 games this year, and he's yet to eclipse the 30-minute mark in a game. He's coming off four straight games of less than 20 minutes per, but the Warriors have won three of the last four.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr might be managing Wiseman's minutes due to his lack of playing time at Memphis in his only college season, or for another reason.
Sure enough, Wiseman will be the guy in Golden State at some point. The Warriors are 6-4 and Wiseman can only benefit from learning and absorbing as much as possible from one of the best teams in the league over the span of the past decade, a team which still has a chance to chase big prizes next season once Klay Thompson returns.
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