The only trade Detroit made this deadline was a surprising one. James Wiseman was the #2 overall pick for a reason, he’s a tremendously athletic and skilled big man. After a strong rookie season, he missed the 21/22 season due to a knee injury. After returning, Wiseman had trouble getting on the court and carving out a role with the contending Golden State Warriors. Still, he has managed to flash the potential that made him such a highly touted prospected, including a 30 point game earlier this season in December against the Brooklyn Nets. His offensive talent has been on full display.
Still very young (22 in March) and inexperienced (60 career games), Wiseman is early on in his development and could benefit from a change of scenery and expectations, as well as the opportunity to earn an expanded role compared to his time with the Warriors. Playing alongside other young, developing players going through struggles of their own and getting to be apart of a young core could be good for him. Especially going from a team that he fell out of favor with to one that is very high on him. You can be sure he will get every opportunity to perform in Detroit.
James Wiseman in the loss
30 Points (career-high)
12/14 Shooting
6 Rebounds
1/1 Threes
28 Minutes off the bench pic.twitter.com/V4tLwWg0BG— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) December 22, 2022
Wiseman’s Role in Detroit
Troy Weaver, the Pistons GM, had Wiseman ranked as the #1 prospect in the 2020 draft, and it is fair to say the Pistons value Wiseman more than most around the league. ESPN’s Marc J. Spears reported that the plan for Wiseman is to start in Detroit. It is unclear if that would be right away or not, but the chance for a much expanded role could be the opportunity that Wiseman has needed to breakout. In 24 games where Wiseman played at least 20 minutes with the Warriors, he averaged 13.4 points and 6.4 rebounds. While it might seem like this interferes with the development of Pistons’ rookie Jalen Duren, there are plenty of minutes to go around.
Duren is still only 19 and if the team intends to take a jump next season as they’ve indicated, starting a teenager is probably not conducive to winning basketball. With Isaiah Stewart playing more effectively as a PF and Marvin Bagley currently being injured, there are no other centers on the roster besides Nerlens Noel, so there will be plenty to split between Wiseman and Duren. There is also a good chance that they will experiment with playing the two big men together, in which the development of Wiseman’s shooting will be crucial. His career three-point percentage of 32.5% is actually higher than Isaiah Stewart’s career 31.6%. Wiseman improved his FT% from 62.8% as a rookie to 68.4% this season which indicates he’s improving as a shooter.
The real area of concern with Wiseman will be how he performs defensively. He has struggled on defense early in his career but he certainly has the tools to succeed on that end. Long arms, impressive mobility for a big, and great athletic ability, all reasons why he was a highly drafted player. Troy Weaver is betting on his scouting ability and Detroit’s development system to get untapped potential out of Wiseman. There are mixed results on that with Bey, Stewart, Hayes, Ivey, Duren and others, but it is also relatively early in the process. Only time will tell if this is a gamble that will payoff for the Pistons.
Wiseman does exactly what a big should do when defending a Spain PnR which is to drop back in the paint w/ the on-ball defender and backscreener's defender switching. Clarkson gets nothing on the drive and coughs it up to PBJ for the easy transition dunk. pic.twitter.com/7jhN2G9C0M
— Joe Viray (@JoeVirayNBA) December 29, 2022
Saddiq Bey to Atlanta
Once considered a main part of the young core, Saddiq Bey did not make the improvements the team was looking for in terms of defense and shooting efficiency. With only one season remaining on his rookie deal, a decision had to be made whether they wanted to keep him around long-term. I’d estimate the market value for Bey to be upwards of 15 million per year. If you don’t view him as one of your starters of the future going forward due to his limitations, then moving off of him makes logical sense. The return that many expected in a hypothetical Bey trade was a 1st round pick outside of the lottery. Teams don’t often want to give up 1st rounders but you could argue they got similar value back in Wiseman. Though that depends on how you value the young center.
Bey has struggled to shoot above 40% from the floor throughout his career, and for a three-point specialist, his 3pt% has decreased each of his three seasons in the league (38, 34.6, 34.5). This and being an average defender make it hard to label him a 3 and D wing. Bey is a talented scorer who can erupt offensively. However, his inconsistencies and limitations as a rebounder, defender, and creator may limit him to a bench scorer role. With Detroit’s willingness to hold on to Bojan Bogdanovic, and the likelihood that they’ll be drafting a SF if their draft pick lands outside of the top 2, it’s hard to envision making such a crowded forward rotation work.
In Atlanta, Bey will have a chance to compete in the playoffs. Though, likely as a bench scorer rather than as a starter. Which may verify the evaluation that you shouldn’t pay him to be your starting SF of the future. His scoring will provide a big spark and could make the difference as they fight for the playoffs. It will be interesting to see if Atlanta plans to extend Bey before he reaches RFA. Considering they gave up 5 2nd round picks, they must be willing to pay the price tag that Detroit isn’t. Saddiq Bey was a fan favorite in Detroit, but this separation could prove to be mutually beneficial.