OKC Thunder draft prospect profile: James Wiseman

Pro Comparison:

Kevin O’Connor of the Ringer compares Wiseman to a mild-mannered Rasheed Wallace or a high-energy Hassan Whiteside. O’Connor is giving two vastly different examples which might be a nod to either Wiseman’s overall ability or the lack of knowing precisely how he’ll measure up.

NBA Draft Net also lists Whiteside along with DeAndre Jordan as his NBA comparison.

What is uncertain is if he’ll have a better and higher motor than Whiteside who seemingly has all the talent in the world but has a tendency to take his foot off the gas, lose interest in games, and can be a deterrent to winning.

OKC Thunder fit:

A 7′ player with a skill set is always going to garner interest. Then factor in this draft class has so few big men compared to the horde of guards and suddenly Wiseman’s stock is rising once again. Of the teams at the top of the draft order, two of three (Warriors, Hornets) would likely prefer to nab Wiseman over adding another guard to their rosters.

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Although the Rockets opened the door to moving away from big men altogether last season the 2020 playoffs sent a different message regarding big men. The Clippers struggled to deal with big men in both their series. Most noteworthy was the NBA Finalists who each featured big men that alter games. The Heat witnessed immediately how valuable Adebayo was when he wasn’t able to play to start the Finals and was never 100 percent.

The point is adding a big who is capable of protecting the rim, nimble enough to defend out to the perimeter, and can consistently produce double-doubles is just as valuable in the present NBA as ever.

While players of the ilk of Adebayo, Anthony Davis, Nikola Jokic aren’t common, Wiseman hasn’t delivered enough games to decipher if he has the potential to be as impactful. Couple that with those teams at the top wanting to draft a big and it sure doesn’t offer much of a route for Wiseman to land in OKC.

Sure, Presti could be enamored with Wiseman and attempt to make a move. That would require either trading an asset like Chris Paul, Dennis Schroder, or Steven Adams or giving up future draft picks.

The problem with the latter portion of that argument is there are potential generational talents projected in the next two drafts so taking a shot on a player who hasn’t proven he’ll consistently bring energy or whose ceiling isn’t clearly defined would seem like a gamble not worth taking.