James Wiseman's season with Pacers may already be over due to injury

James Wiseman was taken with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft with the expectation of being a star player on a Golden State Warriors team trying to continue its dynasty. That never panned out.

Wiseman played parts of two seasons with the Warriors before being shipped at the 2022-23 trade deadline to the Detroit Pistons with Golden State receiving just Gary Payton II and a pair of second-round picks in return. That's how low his value had descended.

Wiseman had a fresh start with the rebuilding Pistons but struggled to find his footing there, averaging fewer than nine points per game in less than two seasons.

The 23-year-old wound up inking a two-year deal over the offseason with the Indiana Pacers, hoping that they'd help him resurrect his career. There's a very realistic chance that the Wiseman in Indiana experiment will last just one game. The Memphis product suffered a torn left Achilles tendon in his Pacers debut, according to ESPN senior NBA insider Shams Charania. The team and Wiseman are figuring out treatment options, but with the nature of the injury in mind, there's a good chance that his season is already over.

James Wiseman suffers potential season-ending injury in Pacers debut

This is a heartbreaking setback for Wiseman, a player who just can't seem to catch a break.

Isaiah Jackson missing Indiana's season opener due to injury opened the door for Wiseman to get some minutes behind starting center Myles Turner. He looked good in the limited minutes he played, going two-for-four from the field and two-for-two from the free-throw line, scoring six points in only five minutes of action. He suffered the injury immediately after missing a three-pointer late in the first quarter.

The sample size was minuscule, obviously, but Indiana's fast-paced offense felt like a good fit with Wiseman's game. The fact that he scored six points in five minutes seemed to back that up. That's what makes this injury even more unfortunate.

With Wiseman out of action and Jackson injured, Indiana suddenly is extremely thin at the center position behind Turner. Pascal Siakam has played center in the past, but is just 6-foot-eight. What'll happen with Wiseman now remains to be seen. The second year of his deal is a club option worth $2.5 million. Whether Indiana would be willing to pick that up assuming Wiseman ends up missing the remainder of the regular season remains to be seen.

This is an unfortunate injury for the Pacers, and is obviously a whole lot more devastating for Wiseman who had a legitimate opportunity to make his mark this season.