The Charlotte Hornets will have just the one big man on their roster come 2020/21, Cody Zeller. Zeller is a serviceable center who will likely be a backup when his next contract comes around. He isn’t a great finisher, or rim protector.
The Hornets have fully embraced a rebuild and need to get an athletic big to work with their other exciting young players.
James Wiseman is one of the more impressive physical specimens to come out of the NCAA system. He is a massive seven-foot-one with a seven-foot-five wingspan and nine-foot-five standing reach. To put this standing reach into perspective, Rudy Gobert has a nine-foot-six standing reach.
Wiseman had been touted as the number one pick for a while after winning numerous awards coming out of high school and being the number one recruit. Unfortunately there was a massive furore with ex-NBA player and his Memphis college coach Anfernee Hardaway.
Hardaway was deemed to be a booster after helping Wiseman’s family previously. This meant that Wiseman was banned from playing any further in college after just three games.
This was unfortunate for Wiseman, and due to there probably being no pre-draft workouts with teams, his stock has gone down.
His physical tools though, still mean that he a chance to be a really good big man in today’s NBA.
Wiseman moves fluidly around the floor even with a 245-pound body, and he will be a good NBA athlete for his size. He doesn’t have otherworldly athleticism, but he is still a lob threat and can be a real threat around the rim when he powers up.
The concerns around his offensive game are legitimate, and this seems to be why the Warriors have mentioned that they aren’t interested in him. His jumper is limited and he probably projects as someone who can hit wide open spot ups only. He needs to work on his shot selection also.
His physical profile though, means that defensively he has a chance to be a real difference maker. He is strong and has decent timing on blocks, he has showed flashes of being able to move his feet on the perimeter and he can make decent reads while helping.
Missing out on almost all of his college ball means he will effectively go straight from college to the NBA, a tough task.
The lack of footage from his college days makes him hard to project as a prospect, but if he can work on his mobility and offensive game he could still be a starting level center in the NBA.
The Hornets would do well to take him if he is available at their slot on draft night.