I think three years from now Warriors fans will really regret losing Wiseman. He missed so much playing time and came into the league so raw, it was obvious it would take time for him to develop. However, cutting him seems almost like a salary dump at this point. I think if they had the patience to keep with him, maybe he hurts the team a little this year but they'd be set at the 5 for the next 10 years. Time will tell.
Wow, Eric, no like today. First, you trashed James and put the failure on his shoulders, but, then, you finish by covering all the bases, from backup, to starter, to a ''lottery'' star, and, finish off by saying he ran out of time...
This entire thing is way too positive. The good shot that missed analogy is poor. This is more like being given the opportunity to buy a stock valued at ~$20M for only $10M, and then holding and holding, throwing in another $10M and eventually selling for zero. Every month that passed between drafting and trading Wiseman was an additional miss.
They Probably tried to trade down-out of that 2nd Slot, but, found no takers. #2 pick was too high for Haliburton or Toppin ….. Wiseman was not a bad pick. I fault Warriors for not making it work w/WISEMAN ‘this year’….
Since we have an open thread, I was thinking about Igoudala, and I decided to offer this ditty, with apologies to Stephen Foster (since it's a parody of one of his songs):
Feb 22, 2023·edited Feb 22, 2023Liked by Eric Apricot
Alright… Curry doing non-contact on court work. Sounds like 2-3w away with a minutes restriction for another week or two. I bet EA is right on the nose with his 3/13 projection, sigh. It’s gonna be wild if we’re playing the Blazers in the last game of the season with a play in berth on the line…
Well now that the bruises have healed, I have to say I’m not sad to see James go. I’m really sad that the experiment didn’t work out. I’m bummed we missed out on the alternate universe where this guy stays healthy, learns faster, and contributes at a rotation player level now, and is an eventual replacement for Looney in the future. Where Kerr devises some new master scheme that takes advantage of Wiseman’s skills and develops them over time. Ah well.
But in this universe I’m ok. James was all potential and no reality. He was like that cute girl in High School that bantered with you some time but never actually dated you. A dream, a fantasy.
The future? I’m curious about lots of stuff.
- Will the front office, when faced with a top draft choice go for upside and potential again? Does this failure mean a change of philosophy, or do we see them step up to the craps table again and bet on the hard ways?
- Will we all feel dumb in our worry once again when the Dubs win another ring this year?
- In that very very (very) unlikely world in which the Warriors stumble their way to an early playoff exit, how does the budget get cut? Goodbye Draymond and Poole, find some vets, and let the chips fall where they may?
- In 24/25 when the roster cost is more under control, who is on the team? Currently under contract are Curry, Wiggins, Looney, JK, GP2, Poole, Moody, Baldwin, Rollins. Maybe throw in TyJo. Add a few rookies and vets, and Klay on a team friendly contract, is that the squad? Somehow I doubt it. A few trades could and should spice things up. And the new TV contract will give the team a lot more breathing space.
It's MUST WIN mode for Lebron in LaLa land. How will the Warriors respond to this challenge? Are they going to lay down and die or set the tone for the playoff push? Will they win the next game if they beat LA or go right back to their inconsistent selves? Find out Thursday on the next episode of Dragon Ball Z.
Slightly OT, but apparently Wemby is still growing? Went from 7 3 in shoes to 7 5. I sure hope he has a great physio team and can stay healthy for a long career, kid is really fun to watch. Would be just JWs luck if the Pistons win the lottery. Maybe they can try playing 5 guys all seven foot or taller, with Wemby at PG?
I think the Wiseman pick turned out marvelously. Even as a cautionary tale to the other young players who learned that playing time was not a birthright but something earned through defense and Staying Ready, Wiseman's presence/plight was likely an influencing factor in the development of our bench players who contributed mightily to our World Freaking Championship. I would not pluck a single tuft from a single wing of any butterfly that came across our path between the 2020 draft and the 2022 Finals. In the vacuum of available playing time stepped JK, OPJ, GP2, and within the howling need for 2nd or 3rd or sometimes 1st playoff scorer, we witnessed the emergence of the mercurial splash phantom JP (who, during this sentence, I have apparently named the Splash Phantom. It has been a slow day at work). No regrets regarding this draft, at all. Our result was perfect.
Besides the obvious of how his lack of experience combined with rotten luck trying to play catch up, I think there are two aspects that fly under the radar.
1. The Warriors drafted Wiseman at a time when there were many concerns about the SC/KT/DG core. Klay wrecked his knee, Steph was at an age where a decline was to be expected and Draymond seemed like his body was starting to betray him. We all know now how premature reports of their demise were, but there was a very real chance that they’d need to start over and saw JW is a potential cornerstone.
2. With all the talk of “two timelines”, it’s really turned into one-and-a-half timelines. Instead of a rebuild, the core is still here and they have a new core of 20-something guys who are contributing now AND can lead a good team as the OG’s fade. Clearly, they see Poole, Wiggins and Kuminga as fitting the bill. (I’m certain they’d love to keep DDV for this reason, unlikely as it may be and I’d argue Ty Jerome is exactly the type of rare glue-guy role player that they should invest in.) They took most of this season (before his salary escalates) and determined JW’s not on that “1.5” timeline and was unlikely to supplant their existing 20-something current/future contributor who keeps getting improving and is the “moral compass of the team”.
Personally, I think a post-Curry/Klay/Dray era built around Poole, Wiggins, Kuminga, Looney and Ty, with perhaps any Moody/PBJ/Rollins stepping up in the next season or two, is pretty nice. Wiseman was simply too big a question mark (at too big a cost) to bet on him being a meaningful part of it.
If you’ve ever felt the Paul George and Tatum seem to be a bit mentally soft but you haven’t been able to nail it down. This might help. 14 of 17 All-Stars polled are for keeping the first round a 7 game series. Tatum and George would prefer 5 games:
George: “I would like it, just because of how long the season is, how long the postseason is. I would like it, because the real battles happen later in the playoffs.”
Tatum:“Playoffs are long, right? Four seven-game series, that’s a lot. So if I had a vote, yeah, I’d go back to five.”
I think three years from now Warriors fans will really regret losing Wiseman. He missed so much playing time and came into the league so raw, it was obvious it would take time for him to develop. However, cutting him seems almost like a salary dump at this point. I think if they had the patience to keep with him, maybe he hurts the team a little this year but they'd be set at the 5 for the next 10 years. Time will tell.
Wow, Eric, no like today. First, you trashed James and put the failure on his shoulders, but, then, you finish by covering all the bases, from backup, to starter, to a ''lottery'' star, and, finish off by saying he ran out of time...
This entire thing is way too positive. The good shot that missed analogy is poor. This is more like being given the opportunity to buy a stock valued at ~$20M for only $10M, and then holding and holding, throwing in another $10M and eventually selling for zero. Every month that passed between drafting and trading Wiseman was an additional miss.
They Probably tried to trade down-out of that 2nd Slot, but, found no takers. #2 pick was too high for Haliburton or Toppin ….. Wiseman was not a bad pick. I fault Warriors for not making it work w/WISEMAN ‘this year’….
Since we have an open thread, I was thinking about Igoudala, and I decided to offer this ditty, with apologies to Stephen Foster (since it's a parody of one of his songs):
Verse:
The morn of life is past,
And evening comes at last;
It brings me a dream of a once happy day,
Of merry forms I've seen,
Back in 2017,
Hooping with that old dog Dre.
Chorus:
Old dog Dre’s ever faithful,
Dunks cannot drive him away,
He's helpful, he is kind;
We'll never, never find,
A better wing than old dog Dre.
If Wiggs is not available Thursday, looks like a loss. Boo!!
Alright… Curry doing non-contact on court work. Sounds like 2-3w away with a minutes restriction for another week or two. I bet EA is right on the nose with his 3/13 projection, sigh. It’s gonna be wild if we’re playing the Blazers in the last game of the season with a play in berth on the line…
Well now that the bruises have healed, I have to say I’m not sad to see James go. I’m really sad that the experiment didn’t work out. I’m bummed we missed out on the alternate universe where this guy stays healthy, learns faster, and contributes at a rotation player level now, and is an eventual replacement for Looney in the future. Where Kerr devises some new master scheme that takes advantage of Wiseman’s skills and develops them over time. Ah well.
But in this universe I’m ok. James was all potential and no reality. He was like that cute girl in High School that bantered with you some time but never actually dated you. A dream, a fantasy.
The future? I’m curious about lots of stuff.
- Will the front office, when faced with a top draft choice go for upside and potential again? Does this failure mean a change of philosophy, or do we see them step up to the craps table again and bet on the hard ways?
- Will we all feel dumb in our worry once again when the Dubs win another ring this year?
- In that very very (very) unlikely world in which the Warriors stumble their way to an early playoff exit, how does the budget get cut? Goodbye Draymond and Poole, find some vets, and let the chips fall where they may?
- In 24/25 when the roster cost is more under control, who is on the team? Currently under contract are Curry, Wiggins, Looney, JK, GP2, Poole, Moody, Baldwin, Rollins. Maybe throw in TyJo. Add a few rookies and vets, and Klay on a team friendly contract, is that the squad? Somehow I doubt it. A few trades could and should spice things up. And the new TV contract will give the team a lot more breathing space.
Dalton Johnson
@DaltonJ_Johnson
Andrew Wiggins is not at Warriors practice and it sounds like he won’t play Thursday vs. the Lakers. Wiggins is still tending to a personal matter
-----
This season... is just... not... it.
(Obviously Wiggs should take however long he needs, though.)
Lakers vs Warriors...
It's MUST WIN mode for Lebron in LaLa land. How will the Warriors respond to this challenge? Are they going to lay down and die or set the tone for the playoff push? Will they win the next game if they beat LA or go right back to their inconsistent selves? Find out Thursday on the next episode of Dragon Ball Z.
Slightly OT, but apparently Wemby is still growing? Went from 7 3 in shoes to 7 5. I sure hope he has a great physio team and can stay healthy for a long career, kid is really fun to watch. Would be just JWs luck if the Pistons win the lottery. Maybe they can try playing 5 guys all seven foot or taller, with Wemby at PG?
So, with McMillan gone, the list of hardass coaches is getting pretty small.
Thibs
Malone (and only partially, supposedly he got along very well with Cousins).
Spoelstra (maybe)
Steve Clifford (who will be gone in the summer)
Anybody I'm missing?
It's going to be the attack of the warm fuzzy coaches from here on out.
I think the Wiseman pick turned out marvelously. Even as a cautionary tale to the other young players who learned that playing time was not a birthright but something earned through defense and Staying Ready, Wiseman's presence/plight was likely an influencing factor in the development of our bench players who contributed mightily to our World Freaking Championship. I would not pluck a single tuft from a single wing of any butterfly that came across our path between the 2020 draft and the 2022 Finals. In the vacuum of available playing time stepped JK, OPJ, GP2, and within the howling need for 2nd or 3rd or sometimes 1st playoff scorer, we witnessed the emergence of the mercurial splash phantom JP (who, during this sentence, I have apparently named the Splash Phantom. It has been a slow day at work). No regrets regarding this draft, at all. Our result was perfect.
Besides the obvious of how his lack of experience combined with rotten luck trying to play catch up, I think there are two aspects that fly under the radar.
1. The Warriors drafted Wiseman at a time when there were many concerns about the SC/KT/DG core. Klay wrecked his knee, Steph was at an age where a decline was to be expected and Draymond seemed like his body was starting to betray him. We all know now how premature reports of their demise were, but there was a very real chance that they’d need to start over and saw JW is a potential cornerstone.
2. With all the talk of “two timelines”, it’s really turned into one-and-a-half timelines. Instead of a rebuild, the core is still here and they have a new core of 20-something guys who are contributing now AND can lead a good team as the OG’s fade. Clearly, they see Poole, Wiggins and Kuminga as fitting the bill. (I’m certain they’d love to keep DDV for this reason, unlikely as it may be and I’d argue Ty Jerome is exactly the type of rare glue-guy role player that they should invest in.) They took most of this season (before his salary escalates) and determined JW’s not on that “1.5” timeline and was unlikely to supplant their existing 20-something current/future contributor who keeps getting improving and is the “moral compass of the team”.
Personally, I think a post-Curry/Klay/Dray era built around Poole, Wiggins, Kuminga, Looney and Ty, with perhaps any Moody/PBJ/Rollins stepping up in the next season or two, is pretty nice. Wiseman was simply too big a question mark (at too big a cost) to bet on him being a meaningful part of it.
If you’ve ever felt the Paul George and Tatum seem to be a bit mentally soft but you haven’t been able to nail it down. This might help. 14 of 17 All-Stars polled are for keeping the first round a 7 game series. Tatum and George would prefer 5 games:
George: “I would like it, just because of how long the season is, how long the postseason is. I would like it, because the real battles happen later in the playoffs.”
Tatum:“Playoffs are long, right? Four seven-game series, that’s a lot. So if I had a vote, yeah, I’d go back to five.”
Forgot to mention that I really enjoyed this write up about Wiseman.