Getty/Ezra Shaw Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors flexes against the Trailblazers at Chase Center.
The last time we heard of an update was from Warriors Draymond Green himself, during the All-Star game when he publicly gave himself a 3–4 week timetable from then. Well, we’re one week into that timeframe and we already got some news.
Warriors forward Draymond Green was back on the court practicing with the team for the first time since early January, when he injured his back.
Draymond Green putting in work Warriors practice today at Chase Center
Cautious optimism would be the best way to describe Green’s rehab at this point. With regular season games dwindling more and more, Green may not have much time to get back in sync with Klay Thompson and the rest of his teammates. However, when he does come back, he plans to be just as impactful as he was before the injury.
“Still a little ways away, but overall I feel great,” Green tells reporters after practice. “I was dominating when I got hurt, I plan on coming back and dominating. I don’t want to limp back out there and figure it out as I go. I want to come back stronger than when I left. I’m still a little ways away from that. And that’s OK.”
Green has always said he wants to come back when he is absolutely healthy. Back injuries are tricky, and timetables for these types of injuries vary for each person drastically.
While Green returned to practice, he only participated in portions and stayed out of contact scrimmaging. Head coach Steve Kerr was ecstatic just to have Green back on the court, and addressed reporters about it afterwards.
“Draymond’s first practice. We didn’t have anything live, some shooting, some 5-on-0, lot of drill work. Just great to have his energy back in the gym, his voice. He looked great physically, he’s excited to be back. That’s a very positive step for him, and we’ll go from here.”
Green talks about how contact scrimmaging will be the next steps, and how he really cannot say at this point when exactly he would come back. From the Athletic’s Anthony Slater, here it is in its entirety.
Draymond Green talked to reporters after getting in a non-contact practice today. Return timeline is still vague. Said he is “getting my explosiveness back, getting my wind back.” Contact scrimmaging would be next.
Here is a soundbite from Draymond
While nobody knows at this point when Green is going to be back, fans will probably just be excited to have him back on the court in some capacity, even if it’s non-contact.
James Wiseman Back from G-League
As was previously covered earlier this week, some within the Warriors organization have said that the March 1 game against the Timberwolves is a target date for the return of Wiseman. Although, that is pure speculation at this point, the latest move does sort of set it up where the former Memphis Tiger should be back by then or sometime soon after.
Warriors recall James Wiseman from Santa Cruz
Wiseman only practiced and scrimmaged with the G-League team, and he will not play in tonight’s Santa Cruz Warriors game. The big man practiced with the Warriors in full today, and according to Kerr and other players, he looked great.
“Santa Cruz [Warriors] came here,” Kerr tells reporters after practice. “We bought the team here, at a scrimmage and it went really well. James looked good, felt good today. Went through a full practice today, and he continues to improve. No timetable for anything, just day-to-day.
We’re not mapping out anything over the next few weeks. We’re just going from one day to the next, and he continues to improve.”
The team has been mum in terms of when they want him back in action, but obviously terms like day-to-day are much better than week-by-week. At any moment’s notice, the team could announce that Wiseman could make his debut for the season.
The Warriors start their road trip on Tuesday against the Timberwolves. If Wiseman does travel with the team after Sunday’s game, we could be looking at him making his debut on Tuesday or during the road trip.
“I don’t know yet what the plan is for our road trip next week, Kerr says. “I’m going to talk to our training staff and figure out if he’s going to go with us, or possibly practice here. We’re literally just taking it a day at a time.”
At this point, only time will tell, but Warrior fans are crossing their fingers hoping for more good news as we head into March.
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Warriors Draymond Green Takes Critical Step Towards Return