Why Bogut believes Wiseman’s role could be ‘frustrating’ originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
James Wiseman occupied the Warriors‘ spotlight during the 2022 NBA Summer League, making his return to the court and giving a preview of what he can offer Golden State next season.
While Wiseman has made his feelings clear that he’s thrilled simply to be back on the floor, former Warriors center Andrew Bogut believes the third-year pro eventually might feel disappointed regarding his role on the defending champions.
“As a young guy, Wiseman is trying to establish himself, his role, his minutes,” Bogut told Sam Esfandiari and Andy Liu of the “Light Years” podcast.
Bogut explained that Wiseman, the second overall pick of the 2020 draft, would have more offensive responsibility had he been selected by a non-contending team. The balancing act of winning and learning can be tough for a young player of Wiseman’s caliber.
“Development coincides with minutes — big minutes — and being in games late to learn how to win close situations,” Bogut said. “Making mistakes and losing games in close situations, learning from it. I don’t think he’s going to get that with the Warriors for a while. I think he is going to be a 20-minute guy. I think he can be a good piece for them, but he is not going to be a Steph [Curry] or Klay [Thompson] piece to that team. That would be frustrating for him.
“Long story short for Wiseman, it’s going to be a little frustrating but he’s part of a team that’s a winning team. He has got to try to lean on guys like Draymond [Green], Steph, Klay and Andre [Iguodala], those kind of mentally-tough guys to ask questions, get answers and help him through it.”
Few players know what it’s like to be a big man playing alongside the Warriors’ core than Bogut, who made three NBA Finals appearances along with Curry and company in 2015, ’16 and ’19.
“As a young player, Wiseman probably has people in his agency, in his group, in his family saying, ‘Hey, you can do more. They’re not letting you shine. They’re not letting you show your talent.’ And he probably thinks, ‘S–t, that’s right, I can do more for this team.’ But then Steve Kerr says, ‘Hey, we don’t need you to do that. We’ve got Steph Curry. We don’t need you going into your bag.’ “
Bogut said the Warriors will ask Wiseman to be “physical, grab as many rebounds as you can, protect the rim, and be a facilitator as a passer and a screener” instead of a volume scorer.
“You’re going to get a few lobs from that [role],” Bogut said. “I still think Wiseman can get three or four easy baskets a game. I think concentrating on that early in games for him will be important. The rest will come slowly. His development probably wont be as fast as it would on a bad team, individually.”
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With Golden State, Bogut averaged 6.1 points on 5.0 attempts from the field per game over five seasons. That’s dramatically different than his role over the first seven years of his career with the Milwaukee Bucks, who selected him with the top pick of the 2005 draft. Bogut logged 12.7 points on more than double the attempted shots per game with Milwaukee.
“[Wiseman] is coming to a system where it’s like, ‘Hey man, just set screens and roll for us.’ A lot of players take offense to that. A lot of players would say, ‘I’m more than that; I’m not a role player, I’m a star. I’m a top-five pick.’ For a young player, it’s hard. There’s no formula to fix that, and that’s a challenge Steve Kerr is going to have with Wiseman.
“I’m interested to see how they navigate those waters because it’s easier said than done.”