The Detroit Pistons acquired center James Wiseman from the Golden State Warriors in a multiteam transaction that also included the return of Gary Payton II from the Portland Trail Blazers and the trades of Saddiq Bey to the Atlanta Hawks, the teams said on Thursday.
Bey was acquired by the Hawks from the Warriors for five second-round choices. The Warriors acquired forward Kevin Knox from the Pistons in a deal, and they sent Knox along with the five second-round picks to the Trail Blazers in exchange for Payton.
Following the transactions on Thursday, the Warriors will save $30 million in luxury tax between 2023 and 2024, or around $7 million this year.
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The injured man Wiseman, 21, who averaged 6.9 points and 3.5 rebounds this season, had been taken out of the Warriors’ starting lineup. After having trouble early in the season, he was transferred to the G League for seven games in November. Following that, he missed an additional 15 games due to an ankle ailment. Since then, he has played in just two games and recorded 15 points in 21 minutes.
According to Elias Sports Bureau, the No. 2 pick in the 2020 draft played in just 60 games for the Warriors, which is the fourth-fewest games in NBA history for a top-two choice to make his debut.
Leaving Wiseman Behind
James Wiseman played 60 games for the Warriors in the end, which is the fourth-fewest games played by a top-two pick for his first team.
After four years, Wiseman hasn’t participated in a full basketball season. He only appeared in three games for Memphis in 2019–20, suffered a meniscus tear during his first NBA season, and then struggled mightily for the remainder of 2021–22.
In 14 games this season for Portland, Payton, 30, was averaging 3.7 points and 2.6 rebounds. He rejoins Golden State, where he played the previous two seasons. Last season, he averaged 7.1 points and 3.5 rebounds in 71 games, setting a career high.
After going third overall in the 2020 NBA draft, Bey is a sharpshooting forward in his third season. In each of his first three NBA seasons, he became the first player in Pistons history to make 100 3-pointers.
In terms of 3-pointers attempted per game this season, Atlanta is ranked 28th.
Bey, 23, averages over 15 points per game and shoots 34.5% on 5.6 three-point attempts each game. Bey has been in and out of Dwane Casey‘s starting lineup this season after starting all 82 games last year.
On Thursday, the Hawks made another cost-cutting move by moving Garrison Matthews and Bruno Fernando to the Houston Rockets in exchange for Justin Holiday and Frank Kaminsky. On Thursday night, the Rockets made the change official.
Knox, 23, was selected by the New York Knicks with the ninth overall choice in the 2018 NBA Draft and will play for Portland after averaging 5.8 points and 2.6 rebounds in 41 games this year. Before playing with the Hawks in 2021–2022, he spent four seasons in New York.
