{"id":882674,"date":"2026-10-15T02:24:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-15T02:24:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/882674\/"},"modified":"2026-10-15T02:24:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-15T02:24:10","slug":"james-wisemans-case-for-knicks-roster-spot-is-now-clear-as-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/882674\/","title":{"rendered":"James Wiseman&#8217;s Case for Knicks Roster Spot Is Now Clear as Day"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"9r\">The Knicks have one roster spot left to fill, and it will more than likely go to a third center. James Wiseman fits that profile. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"9w\">At 25 years old, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nba\/knicks\/onsi\/james-wiseman-already-changing-knicks-entire-center-outlook-01m48wcmqcdt\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">he&#8217;s showing that he can handle the role<\/a>, and the film backs it up. I want to walk you through how, from the skills that translate to the areas that still need polish.<\/p>\n<p>Lob man\/finishing<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-4\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"ac\">Wiseman\u2019s athleticism and length separate him from both Drew Eubanks and Tony Bradley. For context, he stands between 6&#8217;11&#8221; and 7&#8217;0&#8243; with a 7&#8217;6&#8243; wingspan and a 9&#8217;6&#8243; standing reach. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"ah\">He tops both centers in all three measurements, which allows him play above the rim more comfortably than them. We see his dunker presence in this play pressuring behind the big as he goes to help the drive. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"as\">Even back in his prospect days, Wiseman showed a big catch radius and good hands to finish near the basket while using his length and size. He&#8217;s also deceptive in the sense that he looks skinnier than his weight suggests. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"ax\">At almost 240 pounds on a seven-foot frame, he has enough NBA size to move around with other bigs, and he does this well near the rim. In the video, the passer throws a high pass up for Wiseman to grab. He comes down with it, gains control quickly, absorbs the contact, and makes the shot.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"b8\">His screening has been fine, though his feet can get choppy on both offense and defense, and he moves sporadically at times. I don\u2019t think it&#8217;s a mobility issue. Instead, he needs to pace himself with his legs catching up in coverage or while setting a screen. <\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/01m4y3ej8ew5perzesw4.webp\" alt=\"Wiseman can get handsy on screens\" title=\"Wiseman can get handsy on screens\" width=\"360\" height=\"203\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"bk\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Wiseman gets handsy on screens | via video NBA,com<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-12\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"bq\">This lag can make him handsy and risks offensive fouls. Overall, though, his mobility on rim running and screening get him behind defenders and let him rise up.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-14\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"c1\">Take another very physical possession, where he absorbs multiple bumps before finishing through contact. His touch from the short midrange has always flashed. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-15\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"c6\">In his last full year with Detroit, 2023-24, he shot 51% from 3-10 feet on 132 attempts. So he&#8217;s not this one-dimensional offensive player who only goes up for lobs. He operates comfortably farther from the basket. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-16\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"cb\">This play was among my favorites from Tuesday night. He steps up quickly for the screen, hustles into the action, and does the dirty work of bodying up the smaller defender for the offensive rebound. He hasn\u2019t shown any lack of motor, a real positive. Most of his flaws comeback to technique or lateral issues. <\/p>\n<p>Pick-and-roll defense<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-19\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"cr\">Wiseman has had solid coverage outings so far. We see good ability to get up at the screen (level), retreat, flip his hips when needed, and arms out and down denying the roll. He&#8217;s never really been a high stocks (steals + blocks) guy, so he&#8217;s mostly going to rely on keeping the handler in front. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-20\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"cw\">Once again, a little jumpy or choppy with his footwork at times, but nothing that can&#8217;t be ironed out or helped by better point of attack and help defense.<\/p>\n<p>Ending thoughts<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-22\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"d6\">Wiseman has shown enough to beat out his competition. Couple with the fact that he hasn&#8217;t hit his prime years yet and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nba\/knicks\/onsi\/knicks-have-secret-weapon-help-unlock-james-wiseman-01m4mmvdjamq\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">there can be potential for a long-term stay<\/a> as long as there&#8217;s continued progression and positive play. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-23\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"db\">That makes him the perfect person to pick from this tryout group to bring onto the main roster.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-24\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"dg\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nba\/knicks\/onsi\/newsletter\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Get Knicks On SI straight to your inbox: sign up for our free newsletter here.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.minutemediacdn.com\/platform\/google_discover_icon.svg\" class=\"shrink-0\"\/>Add us as a preferred source on Google<a aria-label=\"Follow si.com on Google News\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=si.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" preventdefault:click=\"\" class=\"flex h-[30px] w-[30px] shrink-0 items-center justify-center rounded-full bg-primary font-group-large text-sm font-medium text-white transition-colors hover:bg-secondary focus:bg-secondary md:w-auto md:gap-2.5 md:px-4 md:py-[5px]\" on:click=\"q-YeKQ_vzc.js#s_lDqay9E5m5g[0]\" q:id=\"dm\">Follow<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Knicks have one roster spot left to fill, and it will more than likely go to a&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":882675,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[355,99],"class_list":["post-882674","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/882674","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=882674"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/882674\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/882675"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=882674"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=882674"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=882674"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}