How Wiseman fared in second game of G League assignment originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
The Warriors decided not to bring James Wiseman to New Orleans for their game against the Pelicans on Monday night, opting to let him stay with Santa Cruz to continue his G League assignment.
While the short-handed Warriors were getting blown out by the Pelicans, Wiseman helped the Sea Dubs beat the Salt Lake City Stars 120-104 at Maverik Center in Utah.
Wiseman finished with 15 points, 11 rebounds and two blocked shots in 23 minutes.
The former No. 2 overall draft pick went 7-of-10 from the field and made his only 3-point attempt. He committed five turnovers, was whistled for three fouls and was a team-worst minus-7.
Wiseman did throw down a pair of dunks, including an alley-oop after setting a screen and rolling to the basket.
The Warriors faced the Pelicans on the second night of a back-to-back and rested Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins. They recalled rookies Patrick Baldwin Jr. and Ryan Rollins from Santa Cruz, leading to questions for Steve Kerr about why Wiseman didn’t join them.
“Practice is the big thing,” Kerr told reporters in New Orleans before Monday’s game. “When you get individualized attention like the guys do in the G League it’s easier to make more progress, I think, rather than the stops and starts that happen during the NBA season when you’re not in the rotation.”
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The Warriors have a plan for Wiseman and they aren’t wavering from it, even if he could have played a sizeable amount of minutes against the Pelicans. His development and building a solid foundation are the main objectives right now and he wouldn’t have been able to do that if he had traveled to New Orleans for one game.