When the Detroit Pistons traded for James Wiseman earlier this season, it was a difficult decision for the Golden State Warriors and their owner Joe Lacob. Lacob had formed a close relationship with Wiseman and was not keen on trading him away, but he ultimately deferred to the Warriors’ basketball braintrust and the decision was made.
In an interview with The Athletic’s Tim Kawakami, Lacob revealed that he believes the Warriors may regret the decision. “You know, we might very well regret that one, longer term or even intermediate term,” Lacob said. “But as much as I love the guy, I can’t overrule what our basketball ops and our coaches and our players felt was the right thing to do.”
Though the Warriors had to part ways with Wiseman, they were able to bring back guard Gary Payton II from the Portland Trail Blazers in the four-team trade. While Wiseman had not yet found his groove in Golden State, Payton II is providing the perimeter defense the Warriors have been missing. According to Lacob, “Our biggest weakness, you could argue, has been perimeter defense. So we felt it was a good move to make.”
The Warriors’ braintrust had their reasons for trading Wiseman, but Lacob still found the decision difficult. “I think James is a really good young player, and we’re not going to get many opportunities to draft a young guy like that again,” Lacob said. “And he really didn’t…let’s be honest, he didn’t really have a chance; it’s partially his fault, partially bad luck, partially our fault for not playing him enough. But we’re not getting an opportunity to get a big talent like that with size very often. I mean, it was a very hard decision for the organization, to be quite honest.”
The Warriors may have made the correct decision in the long run, but it was a difficult one for the team and for Joe Lacob. Wiseman had shown flashes of brilliance during his three seasons in the Bay Area, and the Warriors will have to hope that the loss of their former No. 2 overall pick won’t come back to haunt them.
