When it comes to disastrous decisions made by the Golden State Warriors, at least in recent history, few come close to the franchise’s choice to select James Wiseman with the second overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft.
Hoping to develop another All-Star who could lead a new generation and extend their dynasty, Wiseman was anything but a player for the Warriors before being traded in February of last year after just 60 games with the franchise.
There’s been a lot of talk about what Golden State could or should have done with the second pick instead, including on the latest episode of The Hoop Collective where ESPN’s Tim Bontemps didn’t shy away from reviewing the selection.
“They selected James Wiseman, it was obviously a disaster. There were rumors at the time that they were looking at Tyrese Haliburton with that pick,” Bontemps said. “I certainly should have done it, I should have gone in any direction except James Wiseman, who was a failure of quite epic proportions.”
While Wiseman is averaging 9.1 points and 5.6 rebounds in his career, Haliburton has already become a two-time All-Star, a third-team All-NBA selection, an Olympic gold medalist and the franchise player on an Indiana Pacers team that reached the Eastern Conference Finals last season.
There are doubts as to whether Haliburton was a realistic option for the Warriors given that he wasn’t ultimately taken until the 12th pick, but the Warriors undoubtedly liked the 6’5″ guard as they recognized in the years that followed.
That debacle took an ironic turn this offseason. After Golden State had a choice between Wiseman and Haliburton in the draft, the two will now team up together starting next season.
After just over a year with the Detroit Pistons, Wiseman signed a two-year, $4.8 million contract (second-year team option) with the Pacers in free agency. If Haliburton can help his fellow 2020 lottery pick develop and shed the “bust” label, it will only add insult to injury for Golden State.
At least the Warriors can say they still got something from that draft decision, having traded Wiseman in exchange for Gary Payton II who remains on the roster heading into next season.
