Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr on Monday said that rookie James Wiseman will have a huge impact on the NBA throughout the rest of his career.
Of course, Wiseman’s season came to an end last month after undergoing surgery to repair a right meniscal tear on April 15. He is expected to make a full recovery and be ready to play next season after rehabilitation this summer.
Wiseman endured quite a few bumps along the way this season. He missed the start of training camp after testing positive for the coronavirus, while he also missed time due to a wrist injury.
Despite the numerous setbacks, Kerr believes Wiseman will have a bright future in the league.
I have no doubt James (Wiseman) is going to make a huge impact in this league. He’s going to be a hell of a player but it takes time and you can’t rush that process, unfortunately. It has to happen on its own time. He’ll get there. We’ll just have to keep working with him. The good thing is he is a great student and he is a hard worker and has a great approach. I have a great belief in James.
Wiseman appeared in 39 games for the Warriors this season, averaging 11.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game while shooting 51.9% from the field. He still ranks seventh in scoring average and third in rebounding among all rookies.
Kerr stated that big men often have a longer time adapting to the NBA. He mentioned that the learning curve may even be greater for Wiseman, who played just three games in college at Memphis and did not have Summer League.
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He was also tasked with how to fit into the lineup with the Warriors. The team experimented with him in several different looks as they tried to find what worked best. In the midst of that, Wiseman still flashed his overall skill set in spurts to impact games.
The rookie season for Wiseman certainly illustrated that the organization will have to be patient with him. However, with his skillset and ability on the court, that may very well pay off for the Warriors in the end.
This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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