Warriors Under Fire for 2020 NBA Draft

James Wiseman is on his third team in four years. Despite winning a championship with the Golden State Warriors in 2022, the No. 2 pick in the NBA Draft hasn't found a long-term home in the NBA. ESPN recently made a bold claim regarding the Warriors' draft selection in 2020, which included revisionist history. The Warriors won the championship in 2022 but still received harsh criticism from an ESPN reporter.

"There was talk at the time about them considering Tyrese Haliburton with this pick. They certainly should have done that," Tim Bontemps said on The Hoops Collective podcast . "Should have gone in basically any direction but James Wiseman, who has been a bust of pretty epic proportions. Some of it his fault. Some of it not."

Arguably, the Warriors should have taken Lamelo Ball over James Wiseman, as the center played only three games with Memphis University. However, to fault the Warriors for not selecting a prospect that went 12th makes for a questionable take. Although Haliburton is an All-Star and possibly would have flourished with the Warriors, the Warriors had a hole at the center position.

Golden State didn't need to draft on talent, as it had stars; it required players to fit in the already-established system.

Conversely, it's fair to question why the Warriors took a center with three college games under his belt at No. 2, But faulting them for "skipping" a player respected scouts didn't have projected in the top 10 is irresponsible.

Moreover, the Warriors made it work with Wiseman, as Stephen Curry is known for winning without top-tier centers.

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While it's premature to call Wiseman a bust, it's also fair to question the Warriors' choice of an unproven center over Ball. Nonetheless, the Warriors picked up the pieces from last season, as they missed the playoffs for the third time since 2020.