After a long period of recovery from injuries, Warriors second-year center James Wiseman looks closer and closer to returning to the NBA, where he has now been sent to warriors affiliated development league teams for training and playing. But there is still a lot of uncertainty about the future of this player, the Warriors are aiming for the championship this season, and how much can the rookie player who has been out of the game for half a season really help the Warriors, and as Wiseman is about to return to the game, it also indicates that the Warriors finally usher in the day when they can trade him, so will the Warriors keep him or choose to trade him when he still has great value?
First, the Warriors will definitely choose to execute Wiseman's team option this offseason, when Wiseman will be the Golden State Warriors' fifth-highest-paid player in the offseason, and with Andrew Wiggins' contract expiring next season, Wiseman will further become the fourth-highest-grossing player in the 2023-24 season. But while Wiseman's salary is high, his annual salary is still less than 8 figures, and the problem is that the Warriors have three top-paid players, Green, Thompson and Curry, and their salary space is still tight. The Warriors' salaries of just four top-paid players— Curry, Thompson, Green and Wiggins— are all pretty much full of salary space, so trading Wiseman could free up some space to help the Warriors add players who are more likely to help them win the championship.
Secondly, the trade with Wiseman did not cause much damage to the future of the Warriors, after all, this team has many talented young players, Wiseman may be the least optimistic one, Jordan Pooler, Moses Moody and Jonathan Cumminga and other players are good enough to make fans feel comfortable for the foreseeable future.
Just a few days ago against the Denver Nuggets, Moody and Poole combined to score 62 points; and in the case of Green's long absence, Cuminga also began to show his super strength, although Wiseman's talent is visible to the naked eye, but in the end the Warriors still have to choose between them, deciding who is the cornerstone player of the future.
Poole and Wiggins will face contract extensions after the end of next season, and the bad thing is that the Warriors Big Three are still in the contract period at that time, and the contracts of Green and Wiseman will expire at the same time, and the Warriors' few salary space may only be used to retain the core players. Wiseman has averaged 11.5 points per game so far, but will make some low-level mistakes on the defensive end, and while it's hard to ask too much defensively of a rookie, if Wiseman still can't cash in on his talent in his second season, then the Warriors have no reason to keep him.
Third, Wiseman is destined to be the Warriors' starting center, but the problem is that the Warriors' current starting lineup, Kevin Looney, is a big part of the credit for the Warriors' amazing record at the beginning of the season. His offense isn't great, but with Curry, Thompson and Green, the Warriors' only need for a center is to change guards and scramble for offensive rebounds, which is Looney's strength.
It's definitely a blessing for the Golden State Warriors to have a great basket player, because Wiseman is 2.13 meters tall and they haven't had a player of this size in a long time. If Wiseman can control his return, then he can make up for the Warriors' lack of height under the basket. Looney seems to be better suited to the Warriors' system for the foreseeable future, and they don't seem to coexist for long, especially if Wiseman shows tremendous progress. If the Warriors offer Looney a multi-year contract this offseason (which they're basically sure they will do), it could affect Wiseman's development and could lead to the Warriors eventually trading for Looney.