James Wiseman has been temporarily shut down due to right knee swelling, according to Anthony Slater and Marcus Thompson of The Athletic.
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Earlier this month, Golden State Warriors big man James Wiseman was assigned to the franchise’s G League affiliate in Santa Cruz in order to continue his rehab. After he appeared in three games, and averaged 17.3 points and 9.7 rebounds, the Warriors recalled Wiseman, but his return to the floor has hit yet another snag. The young center has been temporarily shut down due to right knee swelling, according to Anthony Slater and Marcus Thompson of The Athletic.
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There is no official timetable for his return, nor has the team officially decided on his status moving forward. The second-year big man played in just 39 games last season and has been out with a torn meniscus since last April.
The playoffs are a mere month away, and center minutes in Golden State are going to be sparse when they arrive. Draymond Green, who returned from a back injury earlier this week, typically plays significant minutes at center in the postseason. The minutes he doesn’t play will likely be absorbed by current starter Kevon Looney. That’s going to make it difficult for Wiseman to earn any meaningful minutes even if he is healthy enough to take the floor.
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Getting Wiseman back on the floor and re-engaged in the regular season would be important for depth purposes if possible. Green is on a minutes restriction for the next few weeks, and the Warriors won’t want to overstrain him, so having extra size available down the stretch will be helpful.
But given their immediate championship upside, Wiseman is far likelier to earn a bigger role on next season’s roster. Looney will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason, so if Wiseman can get healthy and prove in whatever regular-season minutes he can muster this year that he is ready to replace him, he could position himself for significant playing time next season.
