DAWill1128 wrote:The narrative surrounding James before the draft amongst critics is actually much different than the current circumstance.
People thought he was a slow footed big guy, which he isn’t. He is actually really fast for a 7 footer or just a center in general.
A lot of people didn’t think he could shoot, he’s actually a good shooter for a center. He’s actually a great shooter for a 19 year old 7-1 guy, really pretty impressive.
People didn’t think he could do anything with the ball, his handle for a center is pretty good.
Most everyone thought he was a good athlete in general outside a few posts that were just non-sensical IMO.
Nobody wanted a brute strong traditional center. People thought that was worthless, ineffective, and outdated with the current game. I never felt that way, I thought a guy like Steven Adams would look good with the guys we have. Bogut looked great even to the end.
Now here we are and the truth is, the guys not enough of a traditional center which was not expected. He doesn’t get deep enough position when catching the ball. He’s not strong on box outs, he’s in a less than favorable position when the ball comes off the rim. When he attacks with the dribble or posts up his handle and moves look fine but his finishes are kinda weak where he gets nudged off his release.
Like someone said earlier, he doesn’t have enough Kanter in him. He doesn’t quite understand how to use a power game to get little leverage advantages around the hoop. He’s more of a run and jump guy.
But having a guy who can run and jump at 7-1 guy with a with a 7-6 wingspan who can shoot the outside shot and has a decent handle is a great position to start for a center.
If you drafted a center and his biggest room for improvement was in the strength department to battle inside that would be the most favorable thing to need to work on. You can have a guy hit the weight room 4-5 days a week and cram protein shakes. He’s 19 so he will fill out regardless, that’s a given and every guy knows that. It’s much more difficult if your Ezili and you have zero shooting touch. Or your Jordan Bell and your 6-7. Or your Kuzmic and you have really limited athleticism.
The strength department for a rookie center isn’t a new thing or uncharted territory. KG had the same issue, they even had him taking minutes at small forward his first two years because they were worried about the physicality. Dwight came in playing power forward and they had bruising centers next to him so the interior wrestling wouldn’t be an issue. Bosh and Aldridge both played power forward for years before switching over. More recently KP is another example, the weight room got him to the next level because he already had the length, shot, and short dribble that Wiseman has.
I don’t think he’s as far off as some people think, his understanding of man and ball is the thing that’s improved the most. I prefer to have a center play free throw line and below like Ayton and Gobert play. Unfortunately our teams success having Dray through Klay switch has changed a lot of the NBA’s stance on that.
Our situation is also different than most teams who ever have a #2 pick. We are a playoff team with featured guys. Traditionally James would have a larger role with bigger highs and lows to work through, more minutes and better stats. His per 36 is basically the same as Aytons was who joined just a bad team in general which is usually how it goes.
Just from the extra attention and spacing that Klay provides Wiseman is going to have it a lot easier next year. The Warriors need to let him take the shots wherever he gets the best looks. In the meantime I prefer the open outside jumper over a contested post up without deep positioning against someone the same size. Even if he misses a few outside jumpers at least it keeps the paint a little more open for the dribble, the Bucks with Brook get that.
Entirely agree. They very definitely didn't sign him to be a traditional center, they had AD or perhaps even KD in mind, and he has already shown some evidence of the skill they were looking for. They will get a vet center as they have before to do traditional center things if Chriss and Looney aren't enough, there were vague murmurings of Baynes before Klay went down. Hopefully they can teach him to position himself better for contested rebounds, and getting stronger which he will do regardless of training will help.
I don't know how many 19 year olds with virtually no college experience get on to the court in the NBA with fully formed basketball instincts either, most of the great centers of the past had considerably more playing experience than he does. In more modern times with which I am more familiar, the likes of the notoriously crafty Andrew Bogut didn't arrive in the NBA fully formed either, he was seen as more of an offensive player when he was drafted, and was played initially at PF by the Bucks. And the guy who is being contrasted with Wiseman in terms of his readiness for the NBA in Lamelo Ball played a season against men in the Australian league, and didn't look nearly as fully formed there against obviously weaker opposition as he does currently in the actual NBA.
