Former No. 2 overall pick James Wiseman is headed to Indiana, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, who reports that the Pacers and the free agent center have reached an agreement on a two-year deal.
Wiseman, 23, was selected by the Warriors one pick after Anthony Edwards and one pick before LaMelo Ball in the 2020 draft. However, he struggled to find his fit on Golden State’s veteran roster, then missed the entire 2021-22 second season due to a knee injury, which slowed his development.
The big man was traded to Detroit midway through his third season in 2023 and has spent the last season-and-a-half with the Pistons. In 2023-24, he appeared in 63 games (six starts), averaging 7.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 0.6 blocks in 17.3 minutes per night.
When Wiseman failed to meet the “starter criteria” entering his free agency, the value of his qualifying offer dropped from $15.8M to about $7.7M, but the Pistons still opted against tendering him a QO. That gave him the ability to sign with any team as an unrestricted free agent.
Wiseman will join a Pacers team coming off a trip to the Eastern Conference finals. He figures to slot in behind starting center Myles Turner and backup Isaiah Jackson, giving Indiana some additional depth at the five following the departure of Jalen Smith to Chicago.
While Wojnarowski’s report doesn’t provide any details on Wiseman’s salary, a minimum deal seems likely given the Pacers’ proximity to the luxury tax. Indiana technically has the mid-level and bi-annual exception available, but using the full BAE or a chunk of the MLE would push team salary over the tax line and could create a hard cap at the first apron.
