Last updated: 9/30/2019
Last updated: 9/30/2019
Last updated: 9/30/2019
2025 Free Agents - James Wiseman
Wiseman was a high-level recruit coming out of high school and a top prospect in the 2020 draft mostly due to his elite physical tools. At 7'1" with a 7'5" wingspan, Wiseman has great size for even an NBA center. Combining that size with elite athleticism was ultimately what got him drafted 2nd overall in 2020. However, Wiseman has been unable to make any sort of NBA impact during his four seasons, and he was traded to Detroit in 2023 after struggling with the Warriors. He also has struggled with injuries, playing only 143 games in four seasons, including missing his entire second season. Offensively, Wiseman has the potential to be a lethal lob threat due to his size and athleticism. However, he just hasn't been able to really put that aspect of his game together. He's not a great screen setter, and just doesn't have the timing or feel as a roll man yet. He is a good, but not great, finisher at the rim, and has struggled from floater range, which has caused him to have just a 59% true shooting, which is pretty poor for a rim-running center. He doesn't have great hands, and has shown poor feel in his passing and overall awareness on offense. Defensively, Wiseman has also really struggled to turn his physical tools into actual production. As a center, that's probably even more damaging to his career than his offensive struggles. Despite having all the tools to be an elite rim protector, his mind has not caught up with his body in that regard. His positional awareness is lacking, and he just doesn't have the instincts to rotate correctly or be in the right spot at the right time. It usually takes time for young players to become good NBA defenders, but Wiseman needs to show progress soon. On/off stats can often be unfair to an individual player, but Wiseman's individual numbers have been horrible in this regard. During his time in Golden State, the Warriors' net rating was about 20 points per 100 possessions worse with Wiseman on the court than with him off, a pretty absurd number. Those numbers slightly improved after Wiseman went to Detroit, but they were still really bad, particularly on defense. Because Wiseman is still young and has physical tools that give him upside, but needs to show real improvement soon if he wants to stick around in the league.
Summary
Wiseman has a $2.5 million team option for 2025-2026, and if that option is declined he will be an unrestricted free agent with a $2.3 million cap hold and Non-Bird Rights. Due to the increase in the salary cap being fairly high, his minimum salary for '25-'26 is slightly above what his team option amount is for. Additionally, if he re-signs with Indiana on a one-year minimum contract, his cap hit will only be $2.3 million instead of $2.5 million, so him re-signing instead of opting in is mutually beneficial if the Pacers want to bring him back. If Wiseman opts for free agency, the Pacers will be somewhat limited in their means of re-signing him. Since they will only have his Non-Bird Rights, the most they could offer him using the Non-Bird Exception is a contract starting at $3.2 million. Alternatively, the Pacers could re-sign Wiseman using their MLE or BAE (if available) if he demands more than $3.2 million. That won't really matter though, because if he's worth more than the minimum and the Pacers want to retain him, they'll just pick up his option. Other teams will have multiple ways to sign Wiseman as even teams without cap space could likely use any of the Non-Taxpayer MLE, Room MLE, Taxpayer MLE, or Bi-Annual Exception to sign him. It's also likely he only gets minimum offers, and may not even get fully-guaranteed offers, especially if the Pacers are declining his option with no intention of re-signing him.
Cap Considerations
Mo Bamba (1 year minimum, 2024) Andre Drummond (1+1 years, $10 million, 2024) Christian Wood (1+1 year minimum, 2023)