Former No. 2 pick James Wiseman comes to Indiana with less pressure and lessons learned

INDIANAPOLIS -- James Wiseman knows he was expected to be further along by now, and that other members of the draft class of which he was a pillar already are.

The 7-foot, 240-pounder was the No. 2 player in the college basketball recruiting class of 2019 and the No. 2 pick in the 2020 draft even though he played all of three games at Memphis -- averaging a double-double -- before he was declared ineligible. The only player taken ahead of him in that class -- Minnesota's Anthony Edwards -- has already been an All-NBA player and an impactful piece on a gold medal Olympic team. The player taken behind him -- Charlotte's LaMelo Ball -- has been Rookie of the Year and an All-Star and, with a five-year max contract kicking in this season, considered a Hornets' franchise centerpiece. There are other All-Stars in his class, including Pacers All-NBA point guard Tyrese Haliburton and Philadelphia's Tyrese Maxey.

But Wiseman, so far, has stumbled. After a productive rookie year at Golden State, he missed all of his second season with a knee injury, and the Warriors won an NBA title without him. He slowly fell out of the rotation after that and was traded to the Pistons, the NBA's worst team, and couldn't earn a starting job there, averaging a modest 7.1 points and 5.3 rebounds in 17.3 minutes per game last season.

But Wiseman feels a sense of rejuvenation with his third franchise after signing a free agent deal with the Pacers this summer. He's still just 23 and won't turn 24 until the end of March with a lot of lessons under his belt and potentially a lot of time left to employ them.

"This might sound crazy, but actually all the setbacks really made me stronger as a person," Wiseman said. "It built my character a lot as a person and also made me mentally stronger."

He comes to Indiana with low expectations but also with limited pressure. As the No. 2 overall pick, his rookie scale deal paid him just over $40 million over four years. This year he's on a two-year contract in which only $500,000 of the $2.24 million he could make this season is guaranteed and the Pacers have a club option on the second season.

He enters the year as the third-string center behind established starter Myles Turner and backup Isaiah Jackson, who holds the No. 2 spot by himself on the depth chart after engaging in a constant battle with Jalen Smith the last two seasons. If the season began today, Wiseman wouldn't be expected to be in the rotation, but that means he has a chance to surprise some people rather than carrying the burden of expectation of being the franchise's future.

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"It definitely does," Wiseman said when asked if being traded relieved some pressure. "But really, I'm just coming in and developing. The last two years, I mean, the one year with Golden State I was injured and I was out for a while. (It's good) just being able to come in here and develop and be the best player I can be."

While there's less pressure on Wiseman to produce immediately, there's also less pressure on the Pacers to make sure he pans out because they couldn't be spending any less on him than they are. They see him as a low-risk investment with high potential upside.

"The opportunity to find somebody as talented as James with the resources we had available will go a long way for us," Pacers vice president of basketball operations Ted Wu said. "Having three centers is important to our coaching staff. You never know how the season goes on. Last year we had a similar rotation like that. We're excited to see the growth and development James can bring to our team and prop up that center position."

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle has been particularly taken with him so far. Wiseman has been limited early in camp with a groin issue, but Carlisle likes the possibilities of what can be done with Wiseman's size. At 7-1, 240 pounds, he's the tallest player on the roster and even if he doesn't beat out Jackson for the backup job, there could be opportunities for him against bigger centers.

"In my view, he's a great young prospect still," Carlisle said. "He's still very young, 23, 24, whatever it is. We need to forget about where he was drafted, forget about the things that may or may not have happened a long the way. He's had a great summer with our staff and with his teammates. He's a great kid. When you stand next to him, you won't believe how big he is. He's really huge and has great wingspan and stuff like that."

He's impressed his teammates in the same way already. Turner invited Jackson and Wiseman to his home in Dallas to work out a few weeks before camp started to build chemistry among the big men and the 6-11 Turner was struck by Wiseman's size and athleticism as well.

"I've always been a fan of James," Turner said. "I feel like, for one, he passes the eye test. He's huge. He's all of 7-1. Very long, very athletic, he has all of the (tangibles). ... James is just someone who needs an opportunity. I feel like once he gets the opportunity that he's been looking for he's going to take it and run with it. He's someone I'm going to be around, I'm going to be in his ear. It's genuinely because I want to see him succeed."

Wiseman acknowledges that the Pacers' style of play will be an adjustment. They play a lot faster than the Pistons did and he also has to get used to their defensive principles. Particularly on ball screens, the Pacers have cut down on the occasions they use their centers in drop coverage and more frequently brought them "up to touch" meaning defending at the level of the screen close enough to touch the screener to make it harder for ball-handlers to get around them. Those factors required Wiseman to spend a lot of his offseason working on his conditioning, but he's seen results from that work.

"I'm already a big that can run the floor, that's mobile," Wiseman said. "They play fast-paced offense so I should be able to fit in really well. Just being able to do the small detail things, be up to touch, talking on defense, bringing my personality to the game in terms of the defensive side and being able to be an anchor."

If he does those things even reasonably well, he'll give the Pacers plenty of return on their small investment.

"We know that he can do it," Carlisle said. "With the departure of Jalen Smith, we had to fill that depth center position with someone with upside, hopefully youth and room to grow. ... We just have to get him in and get him going."

Pacers C James Wiseman contract

James Wiseman signed a two-year contract worth $4,784,366 according to Spotrac.com . Only $500,000 is guaranteed with a team option for the second season. As the No. 2 pick in the 2020 draft, his rookie scale deal paid him just over $40 million over four years.

Pacers C James Wiseman height

James Wiseman is 7-0.

Pacers C James Wiseman college

James Wiseman played 3 games for Memphis, averaging 19.7 points and 10.7 rebounds. He was declared ineligible because Anfernee Hardaway, then a high school coach, provided $11,500 in moving expenses so Wiseman and his family could move from Nashville to Memphis in 2017.

Pacers C James Wiseman draft

James Wiseman was taken No. 2 overall by Golden State in the 2020 draft. Among the players selected after him: Tyrese Haliburton, Tyrese Maxey, Desmond Bane, Immanuel Quickley, Obi Toppin, LaMelo Ball and Jaden McDaniels.

Pacers C James Wiseman age

James Wiseman is 23. He will turn 24 on March 31, 2025.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Former No. 2 pick James Wiseman comes to Indiana with less pressure and lessons learned