The Warriors sent second-year center James Wiseman down to the G-League for a couple of games as a step in his return from a torn meniscus.
His first game was Thursday, and Wiseman suffered a setback with swelling in his knee and will not play Sunday. Anthony Slater and Marcus Thompson III of The Athletic broke the news, then Saturday at shootaround Steve Kerr confirmed it (via Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area).
Per Warriors coach Steve Kerr: James Wiseman’s knee swelling has shut down his rehab for now. Won’t go on road trip next week. No decision about rest of season. Says Wiseman is ‘understandably disappointed.’
— Monte Poole (@MontePooleNBCS) March 19, 2022
While the Warriors may say there is no decision on the rest of the season, it’s hard to imagine Wiseman will make it back on the court with less than a month left before the playoffs start.
While the Warriors could use the depth and athleticism Wiseman provides, they have gotten strong play at center for much of the season. Kevon Looney has bounced back with his best season since 2018-19 (the last time the Warriors went to the Finals), scoring an efficient 6.4 points and grabbing 7.6 rebounds a game, plus playing solid defense. Draymond Green is now healthy and he will see critical minutes at center as well.
The Warriors need to think long-term with Wiseman. Looney is a free agent this offseason and has earned a raise from the $5.2 million he is making now, the Warriors may decide just to let Wiseman have the starting spot going forward (not that he looked fully ready for that role in his Santa Cruz games). However, that conversation can’t start until he is healthy.
