The Golden State Warriors have been in something of a rut recently, dropping five of their last seven games. As a result, they’re perilously close to ceding the No. 2 spot in the Western Conference standings to the Memphis Grizzlies.
What’s more — Golden State has exhibited some disturbing trends amid the downturn. Since February 9, the Warriors rank 19th league-wide in offensive rating (111.4) and 20th in D-rating (113.7). Meanwhile, they’re 26th in paint points (43.4 per game) and 27th in rebounding percentage (48.0).
Clearly, all of these numbers have been affected to some degree by injuries in the frontcourt. Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala have been out for weeks, and questions remain about when/if they’ll be able to come back and contribute.
Of course, former No. 2 overall pick James Wiseman — the team’s lone seven-footer — has been out, too. However, there’s real hope that he’s finally nearing a return to the hardwood.
To that end, Warriors coach Steve Kerr and GM Bob Myers just gave updates on the young big man.
Kerr Talk Wiseman’s Road Trip Status
On Monday night, The Athletic’s Anthony Slater asked Kerr about Wiseman’s status for the team’s four-game road trip, which tips off on Tuesday in Minnesota.
The reporter casually referenced the 20-year-old likely not being ready to play during the four-game stretch, which Kerr took as an attempt to get him to confirm or deny. After laughing about the question and indicating that he was being reeled in, Kerr offered a response similar to his recent statements on the situation.
“I will continue to express what I’ve expressed over recent weeks,” Kerr said. “It’s day-to-day. We will continue to call it day-to-day until we have something otherwise to report.”
One thing is for certain — he won’t be taking the court against the Timberwolves. Wiseman has already been ruled out of the game despite the fact that he participated in a scrimmage again on Monday and was “moving well,” per Slater.
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Myers Hints at Possible G League Plan
While Kerr was once again non-committal about when/where we would see Wiseman back on the hardwood, Myers dropped an interesting nugget about a possible G League stint during his Tuesday appearance on 95.7 FM The Game’s morning show with Bonta Hill and Joe Shasky.
“Whether he starts in Santa Cruz or the NBA, I don’t know yet,” he said. “But the idea would be to get him at least maybe a game in Santa Cruz and then, hopefully, get him some time with our team and let Steve decide how he wants to use him.”
That said, there’s still not a box on the team’s calendar with a big red circle around it.
“I don’t have a target date. I talked to Steve last night; he was watching him do 3-on-3, he’s done 5-on-5. It’s really about having enough of that body of work to then say go play,” Myers said.
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Warriors Exec Reveals Plan for Former No. 2 Overall Pick