After the breakup of their dynasty that made the NBA Finals five years in a row, the Golden State Warriors made a concerted effort to try what ended up being a large failure for the most part: the two-timeline strategy.
At the same time, they kept going with a core of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green, the Warriors made multiple top draft picks over the next few years in hopes of adding young talent that could continue the team’s historic run once their veteran champions closed out their careers.
That two-timeline strategy was highlighted by James Wiseman, who Golden State selected second overall in the 2020 NBA Draft. He only played two total seasons with the team, and since then has bounced around the league in hopes of landing on his feet and regaining a solid spot in a rotation.
That hasn’t been the case, but most recently, Wiseman signed a ten-day contract with the Indiana Pacers, the franchise he spent last season with, and was cut from earlier this year. If his previous time with the Pacers wasn’t his last chance to regain standing in the NBA, his new, short contract with Indiana is likely his final shot at furthering his career in the league.
Pacers Sign James Wiseman, Reminding Warriors Of Failures
As mentioned, Wiseman was initially supposed to be the start of the Warriors’ two-timeline, but that quickly proved not be the right move. He played minimally in his rookie season and then missed the entire 2021-22 season after a setback from multiple surgeries attempting to repair his torn meniscus.
Wiseman then played 21 games in Golden State in 2022-23, but was traded to the Detroit Pistons, where he played two years before then joining the Pacers. During his time with the Warriors, Wiseman played a total of 60 games while averaging 9.9 points, five rebounds, and 0.7 assists on 54.1% shooting, but he was consistently hurt and never reached the full potential Golden State hoped for in a draft class that also featured Anthony Edwards, LaMelo Ball, Tyrese Haliburton, and Tyrese Maxey.
After being dealt to Detroit in early 2023, Wiseman then joined the Pacers the next summer, but played just one game before suffering a season-ending injury and was moved to the Toronto Raptors, a team that he never suited up for. The center once again joined Indiana this year, but was waived a week into the season to make room for Mac McClung.
But now, Wiseman has rejoined the Pacers, a team that keeps giving him an opportunity, on a ten-day contract. He’s played in two games for them this year, starting in one, putting up averages of five points and 3.5 rebounds on 62.5% shooting. He saw 15 minutes of action in their December 20th matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans, hopeful to turn that type of action into a more consistent run as the season goes on for the injured and likely lottery-bound runners-up from last season.
Wiseman was supposed to highlight a second resurgence for the Warriors in which young players came in to take the torch from the future Hall of Famers. While it is fair to say picks like Moses Moody, Brandin Podziemski, and even Jordan Poole and Jonathan Kuminga came in and brought a bigger impact to the team, none of them, including Wiseman, have shown enough promise to further this Golden State dynasty.
Wiseman is now likely on his last chance to continue his NBA career after numerous injuries and setbacks for someone who came into the league as a promising big man, who could never find his place in the league.
Warriors Trade Rumors, Now And Future
While the Warriors did make an effort to try the two-timeline strategy, it clearly didn’t work out as they’d hoped. But now, years later, after the Wiseman draft, Curry remains the most impactful player for the franchise, putting up All-NBA level numbers at age 37.
He’s missed a few games this year with an illness and a few injuries, but he has been the sole reason for Golden State remaining in the hunt for the playoffs with a 14-15 record.
The Warriors are by no means in a perfect situation, considering their recent struggles, internal turmoil, and uncertain future of numerous players, but with Curry, they’ve stayed somewhat afloat this year.
Speaking recently in an interview, head coach Steve Kerr said, despite his current deal with the team ending after this season, wants to continue his coaching career as long as he is with the league’s all-time three-point leader.
“I will never leave Steph Curry,” Kerr said to Zena Keita of The Athletic Show. “We deserve that, I feel. Things change in this league. We can only control so much. But I think we’re in a very unique situation that we deserve the opportunity [to ride it out].”
At the same time Kerr said he wants to end his legendary coaching run alongside Curry, the Warriors have been linked to Thompson in recent trade rumors. Thompson left the team in 2024 on not the best of terms, but closing out their dynasty with Curry, Green, Thompson, and Kerr would be the storybook ending to one of the best runs in NBA history.
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