Asked by Anthony Slater of The Athletic after Thursday’s loss to Dallas about when he thinks he’ll return to action, Warriors forward Draymond Green said he’s aiming to be back in “a couple weeks.”
Green stated during the All-Star Game in Cleveland last month that he hoped to return within three or four weeks. That was 12 days ago, so it appears his recovery timeline hasn’t changed since then.
As we relayed earlier this week, Green has started doing 3-on-3 work, so 4-on-4 and 5-on-5 reps will likely follow. According to Slater, the next couple weeks may be more about Green getting his conditioning and rhythm back than anything else, since he wasn’t able to run or do much cardio work while he was resting his back injury.
Here’s more on the Warriors:
- In an in-depth story for ESPN.com, Kendra Andrews examines what Green means to the Warriors not just on defense, but on offense. Prior to his injury, Green ranked second on the team in touches per game (73.6) and first in assists (7.4). Head coach Steve Kerr believes Green’s absence has had an impact on players like Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole, who benefit from his play-making. “Understand that, especially without Draymond for this extended stretch, our offense is a little different,” Stephen Curry said. “There is a lot more responsibility in terms of play-making, being on the ball and handling that attention.”
- One Warriors coach told Andrews that James Wiseman is highly unlikely to be a big part of the Warriors’ regular rotation this season, especially in the playoffs. Golden State believes the young center can help in certain situations, but is more focused on what he can do for the team in future seasons, which Kerr hinted at when he discussed Wiseman’s status on Thursday. “This guy needs reps. He needs a thousand reps,” Kerr said (Twitter link via Slater). “He needs a Summer League, he needs a training camp. So let’s temper the expectations, but be excited about his future, because as he gets those reps, he’s got the potential to be a tremendous player.”
- Kerr said after Thursday’s game that he expects rookie Moses Moody to continue getting rotation minutes going forward, according to Slater. Moody’s playing time has been inconsistent this year, but he has appeared in 11 of the Warriors’ last 13 games, starting five of them, and has acquitted himself well. On Thursday, he scored 13 fourth-quarter points on 5-of-5 shooting.
let’s blame the GM too. No back up PG when Curry is out. Poole is a shooting guard who can’t defend. No big man in the middle. Once Looney is on the bench the middle is wide open. Kidd double teamed Curry all night while Kerr put smaller players on Luka and he shot over them at will. Why no double team on Luka? SMH
Blame the gm for assembling one of the strongest rosters in the league? This is the 2nd best team in the league this season ain’t it? When Dray returns they’ll be just fine. And when Wiseman returns they’ll be extremely tough to beat
I am talking obvious holes in their team. If you listen to GSW fans they have complained all season about the team need for a big man. Also they have had a back up PG problem behind Curry. Green injury exposed their holes. Iggy being injured all season put their defense in a bad place.
They definitely need help in the frontcourt to go deep in the playoffs. And they have James Wiseman about to join them which is definitely gonna help. He’s still green & obv coming off a significant injury so they’re lowering expectations but this is still an extremely talented kid that fills their current biggest need pretty perfectly. Blaming the gm for the team not being perfect or for being affected by injuries/absences to numerous key players (Klay/Dray/Wiseman/Iggy/etc) is ridiculous fr. You say Ws fan complain about not having another pg besides Steph but Draymond is the main pg/distributor on this team & has been for yrs. It’s his absence that creates issues as far as pg play. His return will solve that problem & many others
I had the same opinion on Wiseman until I read this story. Kerr does not sound confident in Wiseman at least this year
Wiseman won’t be a focus of their offense or even get consistent pt this postseason but he’s definitely gonna make a difference & GSW is a much more dangerous team with him available. Myers & Kerr basically just trying to let ppl know now not to expect him to get the big minutes or big numbers that ppl would normally expect from a top2 pick this season. Looney still gonna be the starter. But if you know how talented Wiseman is & you know how much the Way have struggled with rebounding & overall frontcourt play then you already know how important Wiseman’s return is
Sankara, good post. The gm brought in Iggy, but he hasn’t been healthy so blame gm? “warriors fan have been Yada Yada yada…..”. Same fans that disapproved Ellis trade? This gm orchestrated moves that brought in Durant then garnered Wiggins/kuminga as replacements. Is Greens disc problem the gms fault? It’s all whining and thats what fans are best at. Being said, if Wiseman usage will be sparse, I would like to see a big signed. Problem is none are available. R. Lopez hasn’t been bought out and I think he’s the only good candidate to be a contributing big. You don’t sign a big just cuz he’s a big…he needs to be effective.
@claude You hit the nail on the head, and what so many guys don’t understand. You can’t just sign a G League Center and expect them to go toe-to-toe with Embiid for 20 minutes a night in the playoffs. Of course the Warriors want a veteran backup. But, there is no one out there. The Warriors have had a long history of ineffective Centers. No reason to add to that list.
GSW will have some type of shake up this off season. Wiggins will be on the trading block due to his pending free agency since they will not have money to resign him. Moody is good enough to take his place.
He’ll be difficult to trade. You can’t just eliminate his salary in a trade
he is tradeable. There are reports that kerr is not happy with Meyers roster. Want some changes for next year.
Arc89 Please site these reports that Lacob and Myers want to fire Kerr. Lacob made his money by understanding how teams, markets, and businesses work. Kerr’s job is not on the line.
Giants74 never said they want to fire Kerr. Why do you make things up? i said as you can see Kerr is not happy with the roster. Completely different.
@arc98 You call yourself a GSW fan. You are obviously a bandwagon fan. If you were a real fan, you would recognize the efforts that Kerr and Myers to make the Warriors better. You need to grow up.
@giants74 you are obviously the real bandwagon fan here. There is nothing wrong with questioning Meyers or Kerr. Even Mullin last night was questioning Kerr so is he a bandwagon fan too? I remember you blasting me for saying Moody will be a good rotation player. Warriors struggle against bigger teams and its been all year but now its too late to pick up a back up center for post season.
Slow down there. When did I question Moody as a pick? I accepted that the Warriors are going through a rebuild 2 seasons ago. I don’t understand what you are upset about.
Giants74 Not upset just when I mentioned Moody as a future starter for warriors you bashed him and said he is not that good. You will see I am correct.
@arc89 Funny. I have never voiced an opinion about Moody.I have no reason to question his play. He is young player. As long as he takes advantage of his experience of be around Curry, Thompson, and Green.
@arc89 The Warriors never had a decent front court when Mullins played for the Warriors. They were all forgettable. So, I don’t know why you guys are excited about G-league players. You keep trying to tell me that all these guys that can’t earn a spot on a NBA roster can go toe-to-toe with Embiid in the playoffs.
Giants74 Once again you completely change what somebody posted here. Do you have a reading comprehension? Never said he can go toe to toe with Embiid . Do you always twist what was posted to make people seem crazy? Sounds like you can’t respiond to a comment and make up shitz.
We dont know if Draymond will be as good with the back injury and the west is looking loaded. even a 8th seed like Pelicans could give them problems
Pelicans would get swept by these guys, with or without Zion. Actually Zion might get em a game similar to ADavis abt 5yrs ago. Minnesota or LAL would be a problem for them but this team probably gonna cruise to the 2nd rd tbh. Draymond will be good
LAL will not be a problem. Grizzlies, Suns, Nuggets and Mavs will be a problems for GSW unless they get a healthy Wiseman for over 20 minutes a game. Green would neutralize Luka or the Joker.
When I say LAL & Minny would be a problem for them I mean as far as the teams that they might face in the 1st rd. I thought I made that clear but if not that’s on me
LAL will not get out of the play in tournament even if they make the tournament. AD will not be 100% and the minutes LeBron is playing he will be burned out. LAL have 20 games left and 15 of those against playoff teams. Portland has a much easier schedule. I see Portland over taking LAL for the last spot.
If Davis isn’t playing they probably won’t make playoffs but if he is they’ll definitely be there. Portland might have an easier schedule but what they don’t have is 5 HOFers. Zero chance the Lakers miss the play-in
Even with AD they have one tough schedule ahead of them. AD will take time to be NBA healthy so I doubt he can help in the last 20 games.
You doubt that Anthony Davis can help his team win basketball games? This is a 1st ballot HOFer you’re speaking about
I doubt he will be 100% ready by the end of the season. Players taking long time off are always rusty on their shots. His legs will need to get a lot of work in before being ready. Not a knock on him but any player coming back from a foot injury needs time to get physically fit.
It’s the 2nd best roster in your imagination but not in reality. A lot of holes.
How quick the worm turns
If they are expecting Wiseman to not really contribute, they better get a big to backup Looney for the playoffs.
He’s definitely gonna contribute. They’re just lowering expectations for the youngster & preparing fans for the fact that he may not be needed vs certain teams in the playoffs & won’t play as much in those series. Against teams that will try to dominate GSW in the paint he’ll definitely be needed tho.
I want to trade Poole this summer too
Wiggins and Poole for two young players
Why would GSW wanna give up 2 guys in their prime for 2 youngsters? They’re clearly in win now mode
We want to trade you to another website.
Go ahead and trade him.
Poole absolutely! His bloated numbers earlier in the season are not who he really is. Therefore his agent will be looking for a payday that would not be what the dubs need to get into.
Wiggins should get back a decent player or two.
Cant wait til Green, Iggy, and Wiseman to be back and healthy. Klay is getting stronger, 2 rookies are contributing, and chemistry is improving. W’s will be ready for the stretch run and thats all we can ask for as fans.
If they run it back, It will be amazing to watch.
Wiseman dramathon
Moody boutta have Damion Lee on the Quinn Cook career path.
It’s been a great season. Players get hurt. People need to chill tf out over a stretch in Feb/early March. This is the time to overcome struggles, teams that don’t struggle have nothing to fall back on if struggle comes during the playoffs.
Being upset that the Warriors aren’t going to go 67-15 and sweep everyone in the playoffs is ridiculous in a season Wigs was an All-Star starter, Poole basically solidified himself as a Guy on this team, Klay Thompson is playing basketball again, Steph Curry is still playing basketball at a high level, and the Warriors have a couple young guys under club control for the foreseeable future allowing them to be financially flexible in the future.
This season proves to the Batum’s and Patty Mills’ types that Golden State is a place to go to if you want to contend. That’s what healthy Draymond, Steph, & Klay earns you. Batum literally said that’s why he didn’t go to GS. But with the return of Klay, the health of Steph, and the rise of guys like Porter, Kuminga, Moody, GP2 & Looney bode well for their future. They may not win a title, they probably wont, but there’s no doubt that they are a legit playoff team. They don’t have problems that aren’t fixable/they don’t already have plans of fixing.
Size gives them trouble without Draymond. Literally Dray+Loon+Bjelicia+Kuminga is NOT a bottom center rotation, but relying on Bjelicia, Looney and your rookie isn’t gonna work. That’s why they didn’t plan for it to go this way. Remember, they didn’t spend their MLE this year. There will be FA bigs coming here for the minimum, and Bjelicia will likely want to return on a minimum as well as a 3rd string “big” so they can use that MLE to give Porter a raise.
Just don’t think that this is their only chance to win. Steph Curry is still Steph Curry, and help is literally on the team. Next year, Kuminga, Moody, and Poole WILL BE BETTER.
The reason they don’t cut a Damion Lee/Iggy/JTA/GP2 or trade Moody is because Moody will eat a lot of Lee’s minutes after seeing the role this year. JTA & GP2 will replace what Iggy does on the court, after playing with him. Wiseman literally cannot be worse than he was as a rookie, and there’s no doubt he’s learned at least a little about how to fit the system since his injury. There aren’t many(if any) bigs with his potential available to the warriors on the open market. I’d like to trade wiseman, but until he plays, he stays. He came to a team that just had a season w/o Steph OR Klay! Then played with a dubs team trying to replace Klay with Oubre!! They were asking him to improvise as the No.2-3 Guy on the damn warriors!!
He should thrive in a second unit role. The Poole/Wiseman P&R is a bigger version of LouWil+Trezz. Just having Wiseman for 12 minutes a night means 12 minutes Loon/Otto/Kuminga/Dray/Bjelicia ARENT in a shoving match with a 7ft/270lb monster.
Don’t pretend this is a team in the 10th seed. They’re not.