Golden State Warriors 2020-21 Season Preview

With the Golden State Warriors tipping off their season on Dec. 22 against the Brooklyn Nets, NBA basketball officially returns in less than one week (4 p.m., TNT). We take a look at the Dubs’ roster position-by-position, beginning with centers James Wiseman, Kevon Looney and Marquese Chriss, as we prepare for the 2020-21 campaign.

James Wiseman: After being selected with the second overall pick of this year’s NBA Draft, 19-year-old James Wiseman joins the Dubs, marking the first time since 2012, when the Warriors drafted Harrison Barnes seventh overall, the team enters a season with a lottery pick entering their roster for his rookie season.

Golden State Warriors: In his NCAA career at Memphis, Wiseman only played three games, where he averaged a double-double with 19.7 points and 10.7 rebounds, while also logging 3.0 blocks per game before losing his eligibility due to an NCAA crisis.

While some may doubt how a 19-year-old Wiseman can adjust to the NBA with such little NCAA experience, Kevon Looney has seen the potential in both the ability of the rookie and the IQ of basketball, noting that the rookie center has already selected around him the brains of Warriors, both old and fresh.

<amp-twitter
width=”375″
height=”472″
layout=”responsive”
data-tweetid=”1337130357636808704″

<amp-twitter
width=”375″
height=”472″
layout=”responsive”
data-tweetid=”1339143244991647745″

He was asking a lot of questions about the days he was here. I know he’s off to watch the movie) with Zaza (Pachulia). That’s a great guy to learn from. When I was in my first few years, I learned a lot from Zaza.

I’m trying to help him with whatever he asks me… He seems to be able to learn. It seems like he’s got a good IQ for the game and he already feels good.

Wiseman simply responded “I just want to win” when asked if starting and recording big minutes in his rookie season were a priority.

If I start, if I don’t it’s okay,” he went on.” “I’m going to go out and give it all of my energy and just play it hard.”

Golden State Warriors: For now with the Warriors and at the NBA level, Wiseman remains focused on understanding what he needs to succeed. They’re really smart players, so I’m just trying to learn from them… They’ve been teaching me a lot of things, so I’m just trying to learn, that’s all,” he leaned on fellow centers like Looney and Chriss, saying of his teammates.”

Kevon Looney:  A 2019-20 campaign in which he played just 20 of the Dubs’ 65 games, missing much of the season due to neuropathy and hip soreness, is coming off Kevon Looney. In order to repair a core muscle injury, the 24-year-old also underwent offseason surgery.

Giannis Antetokounmpo Signed 5 Years Contract with Bucks

However the amount of wounds and obstacles faced by Looney does not phase the veteran: “I wasn’t too worried.”

<amp-twitter
width=”375″
height=”472″
layout=”responsive”
data-tweetid=”1338630096643530753″

<amp-twitter
width=”375″
height=”472″
layout=”responsive”
data-tweetid=”1339060878386241537″

“I’ve been through injuries a lot and I kind of know the method, I know what it takes to get back and I’ve been through the rehabilitation stages before,” Looney said. “I knew that I was going to be able to get back and be able to play at a high level once I had the surgery and got the proper rehab and had a lot of time to heal.”

I feel better. I feel calm here. I feel like the rehab was terrific. I look forward to showing you what I can do.

Marquese Chri:s Having recorded personal bests in points (9.3), rebounds (6.2), assists (1.9) and blocks (1.1) in 20.3 minutes per game with the Dubs, the 23-year-old Marquese Chriss is coming off his best season of his career. This came on the back of a dramatic training camp in which Chriss joined the squad early in the season via an invitation to a training camp and won a way into the rotation with stellar play.

But for Chriss, problems including cap room and two-way contract constraints will make for an even wilder trip.

“To be waived, to be signed back (on a two-way contract), to have my deal converted… it was, to say the least, a strange season,” Chriss said in a media pre-season meeting. “I’m grateful (the Warriors) have given me the opportunity to come here and I’m happy to make the most of myself.”

Chriss added, “Me as far as my passing and trying to play-make and stuff like that” “(Looney) is just a very smart player on the defensive end. And then I think James just gets in there and he does it all. He really does it well.

“So when it comes to having the three unique squad centers, Chriss said, “I think it’s going to work pretty well for us to have different players who can offer different things in the game at different times. It will give us a great deal of flexibility.