Joe Lacob Calls Warriors Draft Pick James Wiseman 'Once-in-a-Decade Kind of Guy'
The Golden State Warriors aren't wasting any time putting the pressure on James Wiseman.
Warriors owner Joe Lacob told Tim Kawakami of The Athletic that he views Wiseman as a generational talent:
"To be honest with you, he was my No. 1 forever, basically. I just think he's a once-in-a-decade kind of guy. I would argue that, other than [Joel] Embiid, I don't know that there's another center prospect that's come along in the last decade that you would put in the same category. Different players, maybe. But this guy is immensely talented. …
"When you see him in person, it's pretty compelling. And when we watched him do his workout, it's pretty compelling. … Some of the things he does on the court for a guy his size, he's very mobile, really good ball-handling for someone his size. Anyone who says he can't shoot is crazy. He can shoot. He's going to get better; he can shoot. And he's obviously going to be a very good defender. He's going to be a rim protector and shot blocker, so there's a heckuva lot of things to like. And I just think he's a great fit as well with what we needed and with our team."
Lacob isn't shy about throwing out hyperbole, but this one is a bit of a surprise. In the years since Joel Embiid was taken in the 2014 draft, Karl-Anthony Towns and Deandre Ayton were taken No. 1 overall and considered by most evaluators as superior talents to Wiseman, who went No. 2 in what's considered a weak draft class.
Wiseman certainly looks like the biggest instant-impact player of this class. The 7-footer is a walking double-double and is capable of anchoring the interior of a defense with his length and athleticism. However, his lack of lateral quickness limits his switchability on defense, and his lack of shooting touch will likely limit him to being a roll man and standing in the dunker spot on offense.
Embiid and Towns in particular were far more varied in their skill sets when arriving in the NBA.
