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Warriors likely taking Anthony Edwards if they land first pick
Sources have indicated to The Chronicle that, if the Warriors land the No. 1 pick and decide not to trade down, they’ll likely take Georgia’s Anthony Edwards. If Golden State lands anywhere between…
hoopshype.com
Kerr critique shocked, motivated Wolves' Edwards
Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards drew high praise from Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr at the FIBA World Cup this summer, but that wasn't always the case.
Anthony Edwards Reveals Harsh Criticism From Steve Kerr
The Golden State Warriors were hard on Anthony Edwards in the pre-draft process
Warriors pre-draft meeting changed Ant Edwards’ work ethic
Steve Kerr helped turn Anthony Edwards into superstar
www.goldenstateofmind.com
How James Wiseman can make an immediate impact for the Warriors
By Anthony Slater
Nov 19, 2020
19
James Wiseman spent a large part of this long layoff in Miami. So did D’Angelo Russell and John Wall. There’s a gym dedicated for high-level pickup hoops in the city. Only a select level of talent is allowed on the floor. Wiseman falls into that category.
So he found himself in those games, starting most possessions guarding big men, like Jahlil Okafor, but occasionally dragged out into the land of the guards, staring down the barrel of a Wall or Russell isolation.
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“We did a lot of switching,” Wiseman said. “I felt comfortable guarding the guards.”
That was a no-stakes scrimmage, but it might as well have been a Warriors game against the Wizards or Wolves in the coming months. It’s the NBA in 2020. Rookie centers wear targets on their backs. Scorers like Wall and Russell and James Harden see fouls overflowing out of their pockets. Wiseman will be dragged onto the dance floor and tested early and often.
“It’s super important,” Wiseman said. “Today’s generation, in terms of bigs, you have to (get out on the perimeter and guard). I’m willing myself on the defensive end to improve my game.”
This was a back-and-forth we had at his introductory presser on Thursday morning, held in a socially distanced manner outside Chase Center. Bob Myers was seated about 10 feet away from Wiseman. A couple of minutes earlier, I’d asked Wiseman about the progress of his jumper. Myers slid into the conversation.
“Can we get Nico (Mannion) out here with a ball and do some defensive lateral slides and we can answer this question right now?” Myers said sarcastically. “Then you can put up some jump shots. No. Those are the right questions. I think they both want to work. But it’s like anybody — it all takes time.”
Myers’ interruption was telling. He’s doing his best to temper expectations and create an environment of patience for Wiseman. Which makes sense. He’s 19. He hasn’t played an organized (non-pickup) basketball game in more than a year. He won’t get a normal summer league. His rookie season starts less than six weeks after he was drafted. He might be guarding a LeBron James, Anthony Davis pick-and-roll this Christmas on ABC.
This is going to be a whirlwind with plenty of bumps. But such is life. Circumstances shift. They certainly have around the Warriors. Wiseman doesn’t play Klay Thompson’s position, but Wiseman’s immediate readiness is among the deciding factors on whether the Warriors remain competitive in a challenging West or descend into another season of disappointment. If he blossoms into a legit two-way force quickly, expectations rise rapidly. The equation changes.
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Ja Morant and Zion Williamson (in his brief healthy moments) went from college freshmen to high-impact forces the moment they touched an NBA court. Wiseman doesn’t arrive with that much certainty. He might if he got the chance to show it at Memphis. But the NCAA stripped him of that opportunity.
I chatted with Ron Adams briefly before Wiseman’s press conference. He mentioned the case of Mitchell Robinson. Like Wiseman, Robinson’s college career never materialized. It dipped his draft stock. He went a year without playing. But Robinson arrived on the professional scene ready to defend and block shots at a high level. Wiseman has the physical tools to be an even greater immediate force.
Adams is high on Wiseman’s defensive potential. Just about everyone in the organization seems to be. The entire front office and most of the coaching staff attended his introductory press conference. Side conversations pinged back-and-forth between the despondence over the Thompson injury news and the growing excitement at their new franchise center.
“Man,” one coach said. “I wish we could’ve seen the full lineup together with both of them.”
Shaun Livingston, now a Warriors executive, walked over to introduce himself to Wiseman and his family after the rookie left the stage. Livingston is 6-foot-7. Wiseman, a teenager, was towering over him. Zaza Pachulia was also mingling. He’s noticeably taller than Zaza.
“That a legit 7-foot-1?” I asked Livingston as he walked away from Wiseman.
“Oh, yeah,” he said. “It’s legit.”
He’s going to crush lobs, grab rebounds and block shots from Day 1. There’s belief the jumper could eventually come around and Wiseman might develop into a featured offensive tool — facing up from 18 feet out and even given the freedom to attack off the dribble from the perimeter.
“He’s got some wiggle to his offensive game,” one exec said.
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But for now, the spotlight’s on the defensive end. That’s the area they’d like to develop most rapidly. If he can stick with guards like Wall and Russell on switches, slide his feet and avoid over-fouling, they suddenly have a feared defensive frontcourt — next to Draymond Green, who will be quarterbacking him through every scheme, matchup and mistake.
Green has already reached out to Wiseman. He texted him congratulations but also told him nobody cares the day after you’re drafted. The honeymoon is over.
“Be ready to work,” Draymond said.
Wiseman took it well. The Warriors love his personality — humble and well-rounded. Myers had heard that Wiseman knows Mandarin and, on the spot mid press conference, he asked Wiseman to speak a few words in the language. Wiseman obliged.
Myers also told of the Miami dinner that sold the organization on the fit.
“My favorite part of James was we went to a very socially distant outdoor, safe meal with him,” Myers said. “And he showed up by himself. And I liked that. I think these guys are going to — they’re young, both of them. But they’re in a man’s world now. And they’re going to have to grow up. And I feel like now — I’m a parent of three daughters. The best thing can you do is let your kids be on their own sometimes. And he handled himself well. We got up from that dinner and we said what a pleasant young man.”
But can he survive against attacking guards and downhill wings and 3-point shooting centers and the rookie side of a referee’s whistle? That’s the next question. Practice starts in two weeks.
So he found himself in those games, starting most possessions guarding big men, like Jahlil Okafor, but occasionally dragged out into the land of the guards, staring down the barrel of a Wall or Russell isolation.
ADVERTISEMENT
“We did a lot of switching,” Wiseman said. “I felt comfortable guarding the guards.”
That was a no-stakes scrimmage, but it might as well have been a Warriors game against the Wizards or Wolves in the coming months. It’s the NBA in 2020. Rookie centers wear targets on their backs. Scorers like Wall and Russell and James Harden see fouls overflowing out of their pockets. Wiseman will be dragged onto the dance floor and tested early and often.
“It’s super important,” Wiseman said. “Today’s generation, in terms of bigs, you have to (get out on the perimeter and guard). I’m willing myself on the defensive end to improve my game.”
This was a back-and-forth we had at his introductory presser on Thursday morning, held in a socially distanced manner outside Chase Center. Bob Myers was seated about 10 feet away from Wiseman. A couple of minutes earlier, I’d asked Wiseman about the progress of his jumper. Myers slid into the conversation.
“Can we get Nico (Mannion) out here with a ball and do some defensive lateral slides and we can answer this question right now?” Myers said sarcastically. “Then you can put up some jump shots. No. Those are the right questions. I think they both want to work. But it’s like anybody — it all takes time.”
Myers’ interruption was telling. He’s doing his best to temper expectations and create an environment of patience for Wiseman. Which makes sense. He’s 19. He hasn’t played an organized (non-pickup) basketball game in more than a year. He won’t get a normal summer league. His rookie season starts less than six weeks after he was drafted. He might be guarding a LeBron James, Anthony Davis pick-and-roll this Christmas on ABC.
This is going to be a whirlwind with plenty of bumps. But such is life. Circumstances shift. They certainly have around the Warriors. Wiseman doesn’t play Klay Thompson’s position, but Wiseman’s immediate readiness is among the deciding factors on whether the Warriors remain competitive in a challenging West or descend into another season of disappointment. If he blossoms into a legit two-way force quickly, expectations rise rapidly. The equation changes.
ADVERTISEMENT
Ja Morant and Zion Williamson (in his brief healthy moments) went from college freshmen to high-impact forces the moment they touched an NBA court. Wiseman doesn’t arrive with that much certainty. He might if he got the chance to show it at Memphis. But the NCAA stripped him of that opportunity.
I chatted with Ron Adams briefly before Wiseman’s press conference. He mentioned the case of Mitchell Robinson. Like Wiseman, Robinson’s college career never materialized. It dipped his draft stock. He went a year without playing. But Robinson arrived on the professional scene ready to defend and block shots at a high level. Wiseman has the physical tools to be an even greater immediate force.
Adams is high on Wiseman’s defensive potential. Just about everyone in the organization seems to be. The entire front office and most of the coaching staff attended his introductory press conference. Side conversations pinged back-and-forth between the despondence over the Thompson injury news and the growing excitement at their new franchise center.
“Man,” one coach said. “I wish we could’ve seen the full lineup together with both of them.”
Shaun Livingston, now a Warriors executive, walked over to introduce himself to Wiseman and his family after the rookie left the stage. Livingston is 6-foot-7. Wiseman, a teenager, was towering over him. Zaza Pachulia was also mingling. He’s noticeably taller than Zaza.
“That a legit 7-foot-1?” I asked Livingston as he walked away from Wiseman.
“Oh, yeah,” he said. “It’s legit.”
He’s going to crush lobs, grab rebounds and block shots from Day 1. There’s belief the jumper could eventually come around and Wiseman might develop into a featured offensive tool — facing up from 18 feet out and even given the freedom to attack off the dribble from the perimeter.
“He’s got some wiggle to his offensive game,” one exec said.
ADVERTISEMENT
But for now, the spotlight’s on the defensive end. That’s the area they’d like to develop most rapidly. If he can stick with guards like Wall and Russell on switches, slide his feet and avoid over-fouling, they suddenly have a feared defensive frontcourt — next to Draymond Green, who will be quarterbacking him through every scheme, matchup and mistake.
Green has already reached out to Wiseman. He texted him congratulations but also told him nobody cares the day after you’re drafted. The honeymoon is over.
“Be ready to work,” Draymond said.
Wiseman took it well. The Warriors love his personality — humble and well-rounded. Myers had heard that Wiseman knows Mandarin and, on the spot mid press conference, he asked Wiseman to speak a few words in the language. Wiseman obliged.
Myers also told of the Miami dinner that sold the organization on the fit.
“My favorite part of James was we went to a very socially distant outdoor, safe meal with him,” Myers said. “And he showed up by himself. And I liked that. I think these guys are going to — they’re young, both of them. But they’re in a man’s world now. And they’re going to have to grow up. And I feel like now — I’m a parent of three daughters. The best thing can you do is let your kids be on their own sometimes. And he handled himself well. We got up from that dinner and we said what a pleasant young man.”
But can he survive against attacking guards and downhill wings and 3-point shooting centers and the rookie side of a referee’s whistle? That’s the next question. Practice starts in two weeks.
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