The Warriors selected James Wiseman with the second overall pick in the 2020 draft. Sixty games and multiple injuries later, he’s heading to Detroit.
In a three-team trade that appears to amount to a salary dump, the Warriors are sending Wiseman to the Pistons in exchange for five second round picks from the Atlanta Hawks. Pistons forward Saddiq Bey is heading to Atlanta.
Along with the five second rounders, the Warriors are receiving Pistons wing Kevin Knox.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski was the first to report the package, and The Athletic’s Shams Charania added details.
Golden State selected Wiseman after he played just three games in college at Memphis. That draft was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, preventing teams from undergoing their normal scouting and workout processes. LaMelo Ball and Tyrese Haliburton are two notable players who got drafted after Wiseman.
A knee injury knocked him out for the entire 2021-22 season and an ankle sprain disrupted this current campaign. When he was on the court for the Warriors, he was largely ineffective, showing his inexperience on the defensive end and struggling to make an impact around the basket.
Of 503 players to log a minute this season, Wiseman’s -5.1 plus-minus ranks 484th.
Trading Wiseman relieves the Warriors of serious cash commitments. By sending him out, the Warriors will save about $51 million in salary and tax this year and an estimated $85 million next year. Because Wiseman was out of Golden State’s rotation and incapable of contributing to their title defense, he was essentially a sunk cost.
Knox has appeared in 42 games this season and is averaging 14.1 minutes per game. Drafted out of Kentucky in 2018 by the Knicks as a 3-point shooter, the 6-foot-7 wing has failed to establish himself as a rotational player. Still, he’s shooting 37.1% on 3s this season and could benefit from Golden State’s ecosystem.
Knox makes $3 million this season and has a club option for next year.
Given the nature of the three-team deal, more details will likely trickle out before the trade deadline ends at noon. Golden State could look to flip some or all of the second rounders they received for another player, potentially packaging them with young wing Moses Moody.
This is a developing story.