If someone told you in June that the New York Knicks would bring in James Wiseman to help their title-defense bid, you probably wouldn't have believed them.

However, the beauty of sports is that you should always expect the unexpected. 

And 17 days before the Knicks' season opening clash against LeBron James and the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden, Wiseman has emerged as the favorite to claim New York's final roster spot.

"He has impressed in camp, according to witnesses, and should be the favorite," Stefan Bondy of the New York Post reports. "With an important caution: They still have to play preseason."

Because head coach Mike Brown is familiar with Wiseman — from their stint together in Golden State — adding the undoubtedly talented 6-foot-11 big man as a center depth option is a good value opportunity for the Knicks.

Still just 25 years old, Wiseman has never really had the chance to just play basketball and develop due to untimely injuries. 

After a promising rookie campaign with the Warriors — where he averaged 11.4 points and 5.8 rebounds per game while shooting 51.9 percent from the field — the former No. 2 overall Draft pick (2020) tore his meniscus midway through the season, keeping him out for the rest of the year and the entirety of the 2021-22 season.

When he returned for the 2022-23 season, he played 21 games for the defending-champion Warriors, shooting 62.8 percent from the field and 50 percent from three-point range, averaging just 12.5 minutes per game. But by then, Golden State had already decided Wiseman wasn't going to contribute enough to its 'win-now' mode.

Wiseman was traded to Detroit midseason and averaged 12.7 points over 24 games in Motor City. He shot 52.8 percent from the field in 25.2 minutes per tilt, adding 8.1 rebounds per game. 

That put Wiseman in good stead to continue with the Pistons the following year, when he played 17.3 minutes per game and averaged 7.1 points as a rotation regular. However, after racking up a career-high 63 games, disaster struck again.

Wiseman tore his Achilles right as he was finding his footing in the league, and nothing has been the same since.

The Pistons let him walk in the 2024 offseason, and Wiseman has played just five games over the last two campaigns with the Indiana Pacers.

The Warriors took Wiseman with the second pick of the Draft for a reason. They hoped he would fill their long-standing void at center as a modern-day stretch big. 

Unfortunately, a journey to where you want to go isn't always linear. But if you stay the course, chances are you will make it there eventually.

If the Knicks can unlock the superstar potential that indubitably lies within Wiseman, they could end up with more than just a third-string center option in their ranks.

Wiseman dominated the high school scene before playing only three games at the University of Memphis in 2019-20. He then withdrew to prepare for the Draft. Still, in that short span, he showed what he's capable of.

Wiseman tallied 19.7 points, 10.7 rebounds, and three blocks per game while shooting 76.9 percent from the field. That's all still there. It doesn't just leave. It does need to be brought out, though, and perhaps Brown is the right man to do it. 

The former Golden State assistant has spoken highly of Wiseman since he signed a non-guaranteed Exhibit 9 contract with the Knicks on Sept. 16, expressing his belief in his physical upside. 

Brown called Wiseman a "fantastic human being" and a "fantastic young man" who it is "good to see in the gym." He added that his unique blend of size, athleticism, and skill gives him a rightful place in the NBA and that sometimes it just takes the right moment, team, and situation to find the right fit in this league.

Well, maybe New York is that for Wiseman. If he continues to impress in preseason games and earns a standard contract, he will enter the new campaign with a clean slate.

He won't have external pressure. He might not even get any minutes to start, since the Knicks signed veteran Andre Drummond to back up Karl-Anthony Towns after Mitchell Robinson's exit.

However, if he reaches or exceeds the internal goals set for him and becomes a contributor to the Knicks' title defense, it would be an enormous win for the franchise and the beginning of a tremendous redemption arc for Wiseman.