Update: James Wiseman trade to Pistons leads to return of Gary Payton II to Warriors
SAN FRANCISCO -- The Golden State Warriors have agreed to send James Wiseman to the Detroit Pistons as part of a three-team trade, according to Adrian Wojnarowski.
In addition, the Pistons will send Saddiq Bey to the Atlanta Hawks, while the Hawks will give the Warriors five future second-round picks, according to CBS Sports.
Then the Warriors reportedly dealt the five picks to Portland and in return brought back defensive sparkplug Gary Payton II, who left the Bay Area in free agency signing a three-year contract worth over $26 million with the Blazers.
Wiseman, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, ended up playing just 60 total games for the Warriors in his two-plus seasons with the team. Much of that was due to injuries, including a knee problem that kept him out of the entire 2021-22 campaign, but he was also just not ready to contribute on a championship team at this stage of his career.
Due to their cap situation, it's estimated the Warriors will save roughly $7 million in luxury tax this year on Thursday's trades, and $30 million in 2023-2024. This comes from a combination of the salary they would have owed Wiseman and luxury-tax penalities. While that is a lot of money, salary dumping a former No. 2 overall pick is a rough result.
Meanwhile, the return of GPII will also give the Warriors another option at guard with Stephen Curry out following his leg injury on Feb. 4 against Dallas. The team announced Thursday morning that he would be re-evaluated following the All-Star break.
The Pistons, who have the second-worst record in the league at 14-42, will get a chance to look at Wiseman over the rest of this season and next. Though raw, there aren't many seven-footers who can move like Wiseman, and the Pistons will hope they can turn him into a reclamation project. Doing so will cost them Bey, but the wing had not improved much from his rookie season and Wiseman has higher upside.
As for the Hawks, this has been a disappointing season in Atlanta. Despite the blockbuster addition of Dejounte Murray in the offseason, they are under .500 at 27-28 and currently sitting in a play-in tournament spot. Part of the problem has been their total lack of outside shooting, and Bey should help address that problem. He's a big, physical wing who has made 37.2 percent of his catch-and-shoot 3s this season, and will help improve the spacing around Trae Young and Dejounte Murray.
