Ezra Shaw/Getty Images Bob Myers
The Golden State Warriors have been short-handed over the last couple of weeks of the NBA season due to injuries. Draymond Green is a new injury and second-year pro James Wiseman is still ramping up to return, which has caused obvious concerns among Warriors fans.
The team isn’t discouraged, however. Or, at least, it’s not ready to look at the “doomsday” scenario, certainly not on Green.
On Tuesday, general manager Bob Myers appeared on 95.7 The Game’s “The Morning Roast: Executive Show.” During the interview, he discussed the statuses of both Green and Wiseman.
Draymond Green Injury
Green has been out since January 6. At first, it was thought to be a calf injury, but on Sunday it was announced he was dealing with a lower back injury. Green will be re-evaluated after January 29. While discussing the Green injury, Myers seemed cautiously optimistic.
“As far as I’m looking at it, each day it’s getting better and that’s the news,” Myers said. “It hasn’t plateaued. I haven’t heard any doomsday scenarios from anybody at this point. They’re always out there, but at this juncture, nobody’s saying that.
“We just gotta let the process go the way it’s going. Talked to some specialists and they say we’re doing the right thing. The key is to not throw a guy back out there that has this issue, and then it makes it worse. We’re just following the best doctors’ orders, listening to his body and listening to [director of sports medicine and performance] Rick [Celebrini].”
Wiseman’s Return
Second-year big man James Wiseman has been out since he tore his right meniscus on April 11, 2021. Over the summer, the Warriors were hopeful that Wiseman might be ready to go by the start of the season. His return has taken longer than expected and Wiseman also had to undergo arthroscopic knee surgery in mid-December, which has delayed his return further.
According to Myers, there’s still some uncertainty on Wiseman’s return.
“We’re waiting for him to clear to go contact,” Myers said. “I know we’ve said that before, but he had a procedure done. He had some minor swelling that they were trying to get a handle on. But now he’s close to ramping back up.”
The hope is we will be able to pinpoint Wiseman’s return shortly.
“Hopefully we’ll have a little more clarity in the next week or so on what it’s looking like, as far as the timeline,” Myers said. “I want to see the team whole.”
During his rookie season, Wiseman was averaging 11.5 points and 5.8 rebounds before the injury. Once he’s cleared for contact, he’ll be able to start scrimmaging and working on his conditioning.
It’s encouraging that Myers seems optimistic when discussing both Green and Wiseman. The 32-12 start the Warriors has gotten off to this season has allowed the team to be patient with both players in their recoveries. The team is currently second in the Western Conference standings, just two and a half games behind the Phoenix Suns.
If Green can return sometime soon, the Warriors could make a run at the No. 1 seed and get home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.