Will James Wiseman Succeed with Pacers?

The Indiana Pacers had a positive offseason. They re-signed the players responsible for the Eastern Conference Finals and signed a low-risk free agent in James Wiseman. Wiseman earned championship success with the Golden State Warriors in 2022, but he ranked low as to why they won it. Will Wiseman make a difference for the Pacers during the 2024-25 season?

Standing at 7-0 240 pounds and only 23, Wiseman is a blast from the past. While moves in the post aren't exactly extinct, elite NBA bigs don't start their offense from such a place on the court. However, Wiseman towers over his defensive assignments, leading to points scored on simple hooks and dunks. However, Wiseman struggled to make a difference on the Detroit Pistons last season.

Wiseman averaged seven points and 5.3 rebounds for the worst team in the NBA. Averaging 17 minutes per game on a team with no playoff aspirations suggests something negative regarding his career trajectory.

The Pacers signed Wiseman to a two-year deal with a team option for the second season. Ultimately, the contract does nothing to hurt the Pacers, as he will make $4.8 million if they guarantee the second year.

Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle has quite the history with bigs who have more hype than ability, as Nerlens Noel didn't work out as Dallas Mavericks fans envisioned. However, there is no hype about Wiseman, and no reports indicate any semblance of entitlement from the 2020 second-overall draft pick.

If Wiseman works, the Pacers will have more players to utilize during the season, and frankly, if Wiseman can at least sustain a spot in Carlisle's regular season rotation, consider such a scenario a success.

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Expecting Wiseman to be a star and make noise in the playoffs would be unfair to the former Warriors center. If it doesn't work, the Pacers will decline the team option and move swiftly from the experiment. '