Former NBA star Tim Hardaway would draft James Wiseman for the Golden State Warriors if he was in charge of their basketball operations.
The Warriors have the No.2 pick for Wednesday’s NBA Draft and we won’t have to wait much longer to learn what they decide to do with it. There’s been talk of the team possibly trading their pick, with owner Joe Lacob open to the possibility. But, according to Hardaway, Wiseman to the Warriors should be “a no-brainer.”
“I need a versatile big man that can go out there and play any position and guard any position. James Wiseman – I think it’s a no-brainer,” he said on 95.7 The Game’s The Morning Roast show on Wednesday morning (H/T NBC Sports Bay Area). “The kid can play. The kid has a great IQ for the game.
“He’s gonna be around some great basketball players – some great minds. The kid is going to have unbelievable help there. And the only thing he has to do is pay attention.”
Wiseman seems the type who would be in any team’s starting lineup on opening night and a number of analysts would side with Hardaway where this take is concerned. The 19-year-old center, who played a year for the Memphis Tigers, stands at 7-foot-1 with a 7-foot-5 wingspan and boasts remarkable athletic ability.
He averaged 19.7 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 3.0 blocks a game in his solitary season with Memphis, shooting an incredible 76.9% from the field.
“He’s a great talent,” Hardaway added. “He can shoot the ball. I don’t know (about) all the way out to (the 3-point line), but that will come. He can take it off the floor (and) dunk, make a play at the rim, pass the ball, play good defense, block shots and he can switch.
“He has great footwork, too. He can switch out on the point guard and move his feet. I would have to take him. He has great upside.”
Wiseman is also of the view that he will be selected by the Warriors.
