Nevius: Warriors’ long-term plan takes a hit with trade of James Wiseman

Maybe someday we will learn the real story of James Wiseman and the Warriors.

For now, all we have are the bits and pieces of a weird career.

You know all this, but let’s review quickly:

Wiseman was chosen with the second pick of the 2021 draft. He was ballyhooed by the Warriors, who promised he would be the centerpiece of the “two-tier” roster. They even hired Dejan Milojevic, former coach of NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, to personally tutor him.

The plan was that the old guard — Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins — would hold down the fort while Wiseman and his kiddie-core reserves learned their craft, filled in as second-teamers and got ready to take over.

Wiseman had a series of bad breaks — knee surgery, COVID, ankle sprain — but as the new year dawned, he seemed healthy and active. He scored 30 points against the Nets.

But to the exasperation of some — one beat reporter called it “confounding” — Steve Kerr declined to put him on the floor.

And then, two weeks ago, the Warriors announced, “Forget the two-tier plan.” In a complicated four-team deal, they shipped Wiseman to Detroit and got Gary Payton II from Portland in return.

Although I am a card-carrying member of the GPII fan club, the deal made the team both older (Payton is 30) and smaller. He’s great on defense, but is he the spark the Warriors need?

Also, he isn’t playing. He missed the first 35 games in Portland after core muscle surgery, only playing 15 games before the trade. And when he got here, he flunked his physical with the same issue.

He won’t be able to play for at least a month. And since the regular season is only two months longer, that’s significant. So, as of now, it looks like they just gave up on Wiseman in a straight salary dump.

But we can still see Wiseman. He played in his first game in a blue Detroit uniform (changed his number to 13, instead of 33, BTW) in Boston on Wednesday.

Frankly, the debut looked like a setup for a trying-too-hard, out-of-control flop.

Wiseman only had one practice with his new team. The Pistons are not good — 15-44 at the All-Star break — and make all kinds of mistakes. Also, the player who was traded to make room for Wiseman was Saddiq Bey, a fan favorite.

You could imagine Wiseman pushing too hard to make an impression. And, sure enough, his first shot was an ill-advised three-pointer with 14 seconds on the shot clock. He missed.

But he steadied himself. He had six points in his first six minutes, with two rebounds. For the game, he logged 23 minutes, scored 11 points (5-of-9 shooting, including a 16-footer from the baseline), pulled down five rebounds and ran the floor hard.

He didn’t reject any shots, but coach Dwane Casey said, “I like the way he protected (the paint.) Even if he didn’t block shots, he was there. Once he gets the feel for what we’re doing offensively with spacing, he’s going to contribute on both ends.”

Reviews from Detroit media were positive. Teammate Isaiah Stewart, who played AAU ball when Wiseman was regarded as the best young big man in the game, said:

“He looked like the Wiseman I played against in high school. Offensively, he can do it all.”

Defensively, well, there’s the rub. When Kerr was asked why he wasn’t playing Wiseman, he pointed to the D.

“It’s his defensive awareness,” Kerr said back in December. “Offensively, we know he can score. But what we need is the ability to patrol the paint, rim protect.”

OK, but that seems kind of dismissive of Wiseman’s admitted offensive ability. If scoring is so easy, why doesn’t Green score 30-plus a game?

From over here on the couch, it seems like there are two explanations for why Kerr wouldn’t play him.

First, Kerr has played and coached in the NBA and won multiple championships doing both. It is possible his knowledge of the game is far beyond that of a mere sports typist.

The other possibility is that this is just too damn serious to be nurturing a young kid. Kerr talked about not being able to give him enough “runway” to get on the floor.

But isn’t he the air traffic controller?

The Warriors won their fourth championship with the Curry-core last year, probably even surprising themselves. So now, high on their own supply, they think they can do it again.

Just get us in the playoffs, the vets say.

Yeah, but the Warriors have been at .500 this entire season. This doesn’t look like a championship run. In fact, even getting into the playoffs is not a sure thing. You might be sorry you didn’t use extra minutes in the season to bring along the young guys.

Call me delusional, but I think there’s been something off with the Warriors all season. A team that was founded on joy and good vibes has turned grumpy and out of sorts.

It began, of course, with Green’s infamous preseason sucker punch of Jordan Poole. In January, Curry had a shocking moment when he angrily threw his mouthpiece into the stands and was ejected.

The revealing part is that Curry wasn’t mad at a bad call by an official or a bonehead play. He was apparently furious that Poole didn’t pass him the ball. That sounds like something that has been festering.

Now there are persistent rumors that GM Bob Myers may leave the team, either because he’s unhappy with his compensation or has worn out his welcome.

Even Kerr, usually everyone’s favorite interview subject, sometimes seems stone-faced and unengaged.

(Hold the speculation that he’s thinking of retiring, though. He’s the 2024 U.S. Olympic coach, so you’d assume he will want to coach through then.)

After that ...

Well, change is definitely coming. Curry is 34, Thompson is 33 and Green is 32. It will be a sad day when it happens, but these Warriors will eventually age out of the game.

It looks like the plan now is to ride these horses until they drop.

Because the Wiseman trade made it clear — there is no second tier.

Contact C.W. Nevius at cw.nevius@pressdemocrat.com. Twitter: @cwnevius