The Indiana Pacers' recent signing of James Wiseman has drawn some attention among basketball circles. To many, Wiseman has come off as a lost cause after his first four years in the league, during which he struggled to find a consistent role with inconsistent play for Golden State, followed up by having decent numbers on paper but being a rather poor contributor for a historically awful Detroit Pistons team. Needless to say, not many are confident in Wiseman's abilities.
But why, though? Doesn't it seem silly to give up on a 23-year-old big man who was the number two pick only four years ago and even shot 61% from the field this previous season while playing over 60 games and averaging 11 rebounds per 36 minutes? Shouldn't other teams have given him a chance? Well, there's more to the story than meets the eye. The question at hand is, the Indiana Pacers signed James Wiseman to play backup center minutes, so can he do that right off the bat and contribute at a high level?
The Negatives
From what we've seen, it's not looking good. See, while Wiseman's stats may look solid on paper, at seven points and five rebounds on 61% shooting, he may be one of the most deceiving players in the league when it comes to raw stats.
Let's get one thing clear, the Detroit Pistons were garbage in 2023-24. Nobody will argue against that, myself included. However, Wiseman somehow managed to stand out as a bad player on the worst team in the NBA. Looking at the on/off numbers for him enters you into a scary reality behind one of the most hyped draft picks of the last decade.
Detroit had a net rating of -6.57 with Wiseman off the floor, which is pretty bad. However, with him on the floor, their net rating tanked to -14.47, almost eight full points worse. Additionally, their offensive rating dropped from 111.46 to 107.25 and their defensive rating from 118.03 to 121.72 with him on the floor, while their field goal percentage even dipped slightly in addition to their opponent's field goal percentage rising with him on the floor.
The fact of the matter is that the Detroit Pistons were not a good basketball team last year, and Wiseman did not help proceedings in the slightest, instead making it worse by dumping water on the sinking ship.
Looking at the film produces a mixed bag of promise and confusion. Let's start with the negatives. First of all, Wiseman does not have a very good basketball IQ. He does not get into position for rebounds, cannot handle the ball, is not a good screen setter, is a bad pick-and-roll defender, and is a poor passer, especially out of the post.
Watching him on defense evokes an image of one of those inflatable tube men at used car dealerships, meaning he will get out of position to contest shots and give up an offensive rebound. Back to his screens, you'll be hard-pressed to find a screen Wiseman set in the early part of the season that wasn't a foul, as he constantly moves his feet and cannot stay put when establishing position.
Back to his rebounding, it is pretty shocking watching a 7-footer with a 7-foot-6 wingspan struggle to rebound and box out, with most of his rebounds coming as a result of his sheer size. Needless to say, James Wiseman has quite a bit of flaws and is a work in progress.
The Positives
However, watching the film also shows some positives that can be enhanced in Indiana's system. The biggest plus in Wiseman's game that Indiana can help emphasize is his ability to run in transition and get buckets. In the 2024 season, Wiseman's 1.6 points per possession in transition ranked in the 99th percentile of NBA players, which is an incredible feat for a big man.
He also shoots 94% on dunks which is promising, as he'll have offensive maestros such as Tyrese Haliburton and TJ.. McConnell spoon-feeding him the ball in a system where he is designed to succeed. Additionally, Wiseman's defense has improved steadily with every year he has spent in the league, with this recent season being the biggest example. This season, opponents shot more than 7% worse in the paint with Wiseman guarding them and 2.8% worse from 10 feet out and in. Needless to say, Wiseman has defensive potential and showed it during the season.
The biggest example of his improving game was a matchup against the future NBA Champion Boston Celtics, where he played a career-high 37 minutes and dropped 24 points, nine rebounds, and four assists with 10 screen assists for 21 points (career-high), contested nine shots, with five of them being threes.
Boston shot 1/6 from deep with Wiseman contesting, Jaylen Brown going 0/3 from deep himself but 3/5 with others contesting him, and Kristaps Porzingis going 0/2 on Wiseman contests but 2/4 from deep with other contests. This is perhaps the best example of Wiseman's potential, as he outplayed every Celtics center on the floor, sealing off the paint for players like Porzingis who could not get anything going against Wiseman.
Additionally, Wiseman got better as a screener gradually as the season went on, ending the year with 6.5 screen assists per game which led to 14.4 points. He also became a more efficient post scorer, particularly with his baby hook, averaging 1.15 points per post possession, which ranked in the 83rd percentile. 42.3% from mid-range suggests the possible existence of a jumper which can be unlocked if he keeps working on it, and finally, an average of 1.27 points per possession on putbacks ranks in the 78th percentile, which is very promising for a team that needs rebounding badly.
There was also a two and a half week stretch during the season where Wiseman's defensive rating was quite impressive at 105, and the next highest Piston was 113. Up until January, Wiseman's defensive rating was around the 123 mark, which he improved to get it down to 118.
There were plenty of times in the second half of the season when he sealed off the paint and held units together defensively while being surrounded by three small guards and a wing player. His perimeter defense and dribble hand-off game have also improved, with him guarding Trae Young on the perimeter better than some guards in a game against the Hawks. Wiseman made plenty of strides defensive in the second half of the season and still has room to grow, with him arguably being Detroit's best defensive center in the second half of the season.
Injuries and mishandling
Perhaps the most important thing to note with Wiseman is how poorly his career has been handled up to this point. From the jump, it seemed like he was not set to succeed in the league. A combination of injuries and an ugly booster scandal resulted in Wiseman only playing three games for Memphis after being a consensus five-star recruit out of high school and the projected number-one pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.
Going into his NBA career, while fellow top-three picks Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball were drafted to a team that would focus on their development and pencil them in as the team's future, Wiseman was put in a much different situation.
Taken second overall by the Golden State Warriors who had just come off an injury-riddled season completely unlike their usual quest for dominance, Wiseman was expected to contribute right away as basically a prep-to-pro player with little to no college experience.
This led to friction with the Warriors coaching staff before injuries ultimately ended his season. These injuries would also take away his entire 2021-22 campaign, leaving another season where Wiseman did more watching from the sidelines than actual basketball. Golden State won the 2022 NBA Championship and clearly did not have time to develop the then-22-year-old, shipping him off to Detroit at the 2023 Trade Deadline.
In Detroit, Wiseman was given more minutes and a starting role upon arrival, but the Detroit Pistons are not exactly a team where projects come to thrive. In Detroit, Wiseman found one coach who believed in him and would give him time to develop, that being Dwayne Casey.
Casey gave Wiseman a starting spot and plenty of minutes on a rebuilding team and was the first NBA coach who developed a real relationship with the youngster, a relationship that was not replicated with Detroit's coach for the 2023-24 season, Monty Williams. At this point, it is worth noting that Casey is good friends with Rick Carlisle, Indiana's current coach, so maybe some knowledge could be rubbed off in those exchanges.
With Detroit unwilling to retain him in the 2024 offseason by making him an unrestricted free agent, Wiseman found himself on the fringes of the league. This two-year deal with the Indiana Pacers may be his last chance to prove that he belongs in the league, both due to factors in his control and out of his control.
While it is true that Wiseman has shown little to nothing to justify him being the second pick in an otherwise stacked 2020 Draft Class, he is absolutely not a lost cause yet. If he is serious about staying in the league, he will come into training camp with a chip on his shoulder ready to produce at a high level.
Kevin Pritchard and Chad Buchanan have a very sharp eye for talent, as shown by their ability to turn around the careers of many a 2020 Draft Class member before Wiseman, but this will be their biggest challenge yet. Perhaps a good organization with time to spare and more attention on him is all Wiseman needs to improve and become a steady rotation player. We will have to find out in the future.
Can he contribute right away?
So, with all that said, can James Wiseman contribute right away for the Indiana Pacers?
I don't think so. I think it will be a stark contrast from the losing culture in Detroit and constant lack of expectations to a bonafide playoff team and dark horse contender in Indiana that cannot afford major missteps in the upcoming seasons. If the season started today, I do not believe Wiseman would have a spot in the rotation, as there are at least 11 players who have a case to be ranked ahead of him, including two centers in Myles Turner and Isaiah Jackson.
Wiseman's best bet this upcoming season is to fight with Jackson for the backup center spot with the winner ultimately becoming Indiana's backup to Myles Turner for the future. After all, Wiseman is only a year older than Jackson and can feasibly take his spot if he plays well enough.
Given the progress he made in Detroit, there is a world where James Wiseman swoops in out of nowhere and becomes Indiana's backup center for the future, allowing the team to be more flexible with Isaiah Jackson, even putting him in a potential trade package for a better player on the wings or in the backcourt.
This is a tall task at the moment, however. For now, James Wiseman needs a lot of work before he can waltz into Indiana and take a rotation spot. While he has shown progress, that was on a rebuilding team with one of the worst cultures in the league and constant losing.
If I were the Pacers, I would look to put him in the Summer League to get as many reps as possible before the season. Sure enough, Wiseman will probably spend some time in the G League going forward to hone his skills and remain active while gearing up for a potential rotation opening in the future.
The best-case scenario for Wiseman is simple. If he works hard enough, improves his game through stints in the G-League and short bursts in Pacers games, and stays healthy, he can strong-arm himself into the Pacers' backup center role and use that as a lifeline to stay in the league.
We saw it before with Obi Toppin, where an athletic big man who was cast aside due to his low basketball IQ and lack of fundamentals polished his skills and thrived in Indiana's high-energy system, grabbing hold of a roster spot and never letting go.
Toppin did exactly that, becoming one of the most efficient shooters in the league in the process, and was rewarded with a $60 million contract for the next four years. Wiseman has a similar opportunity. While he will not be given as long of a leash as Toppin, he does not have to contribute as quickly as Toppin did, since Indiana already has a backup center in Jackson and a third-string one in Oscar Tshiebwe. However, the opportunity will certainly present itself, and that is when he should pounce and use it to stay on the Pacers and in the league as a result.
There is a reason why this signing is considered low risk, high reward. Pacers fans must keep their expectations low for Wiseman and give him time to come along slowly. Results might not be seen right away, but if they are patient with him and let him develop, he can be Indiana's new backup center for the future, saving his NBA career in the process.