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Warriors Notes: Wiseman, Center Rotation, Moody, Kirk Lacob

March 8th, 2022 at 8:30pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Second-year Warriors center James Wiseman is scheduled to play in two games for Golden State’s G League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors, this week, per a team press release. Wiseman has recovered enough from a pair of procedures on his knee to be cleared to play in a game situation.

According to Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area (Twitter link), while there’s still no official target date for Wiseman’s NBA return “whispers” indicate it could happen during an upcoming home stand at the Chase Center, from March 12-20. Sources tell Kendra Andrews of ESPN that Wiseman is “highly unlikely” to become a permanent part of Golden State’s playoff-bound rotation, but he is projected to earn occasional spot minutes.

The seven-footer, still just 20, was selected with the No. 2 pick out of Memphis in the 2020 draft. In his 39 healthy NBA games to this point, he has averaged 11.5 PPG and 5.8 RPG. His lack of experience will likely preclude him from being more than the Warriors’ third center this year.

There’s more out of the Chase Center:

Though the Warriors could benefit from an additional reserve center behind starter Kevon Looney, the team appears to have prioritized wings as it makes a postseason push, writes Tim Kawakami of The Athletic. Kawakami notes that 6’7″ starting power forward Draymond Green remains the club’s most effective center as a small-ball option, adding that Wiseman could work as a backup big in certain situations.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has identified rookie wing Moses Moody as a key piece for Golden State moving forward, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). “He’s a keeper,” Kerr raved after Moody scored a career-high 30 points in Denver on Monday.. “He’s a guy who’s going to be a cornerstone for this team for a long time to come. It’s easy to see that right now in his rookie year.”
As part of his NBA 40 Under 40 series, Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic interviews Warriors executive vice president of basketball operations Kirk Lacob, noting that the son of team majority owner Joe Lacob, has become a trusted voice for team president Bob Myers. The younger Lacob discussed how the team handles player development with a new youth-heavy roster. “We’ve got someone on the coaching staff who is solely kind of dedicated as the director of player development and their job is to make sure players have development courses at every part of their career, and that the coaching staff is on the same kind of alignment as the performance team because that’s a whole other player element is your physical performance,” he said. “On the front office side, we’ve got a whole group and we call them team development, but part of team development is player development.”

Draymond Green Targeting March 14 Return

March 7th, 2022 at 10:57pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Warriors forward Draymond Green expects to return next Monday, March 14 against Washington, he said on his podcast (video link; hat tip to Marc Stein).

“That is the day I’m targeting,” Green said. “It’s been almost two-and-a-half months. I’ve never missed that much time during a season. … This is something different for me. I’m excited to get back out there with my guys to try to help right the ship.”

Green has been sidelined since early January due to a back injury. Golden State could certainly use the boost. The team has lost five straight and nine of its last 11 games.

The Warriors have three more games before Green’s target date — home games against the Clippers on Tuesday and the Bucks on Saturday sandwiching a road stop in Denver on Thursday.

The Warriors were 29-7 before Green was forced to the sidelines. He was averaging 7.9 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 7.4 APG, 1.4 SPG and 1.2 BPG in 34 games.

Green’s defensive presence has been sorely missed, especially in recent games. The Warriors have allowed 122 or more points in their last four contests.

Warriors Notes: Green, Offense, Wiseman, Moody

March 4th, 2022 at 10:38am CST by Luke Adams

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.

Warriors Notes: Wiggins, Green, Thompson, Moody

March 2nd, 2022 at 5:11pm CST by Arthur Hill

When the Warriors were tearing through the league earlier this season, they benefited from a strong performance by Andrew Wiggins, who played well enough to a starting spot in the All-Star Game. But Golden State has slumped recently, dropping three of its last four games and barely holding off Memphis for second place in the West, and Wiggins’ downturn has been a huge reason why, writes Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area.

Injuries have affected the Warriors, who have been without Draymond Green for seven weeks and Andre Iguodala for three weeks. Klay Thompson sat out the past two games with an illness, leaving Stephen Curry surrounded by a collection of young talent and role players. The team needed Wiggins to fill the void, and he hasn’t been doing it, Poole observes.

Wiggins just completed his least productive month since his rookie season in 2014, Poole adds, and his first game of March wasn’t encouraging. After scoring eight early points Tuesday night, Wiggins spent much of the game “floating around” and “standing in space,” according to Poole, who states that it brings back memories of the underachiever reputation that Wiggins had when he played in Minnesota.

There’s more on the Warriors:

The organization plans to have Green around his teammates more often as he works his way back into playing shape following a lower back injury, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Green has been doing most of his rehab work on his own, but players and coaches believe he raises the spirits of the team and demands accountability from others. Coach Steve Kerr says Green continues to “make strides” toward a return and recently competed in a 3-on-3 scrimmage, Slater tweets.
Thompson had a “raging headache” after last Thursday’s game and felt sick for several days, but he traveled to Dallas with the team and plans to play tomorrow night (video link from Slater).“I’m playing,” he told reporters. “I didn’t come all the way to Dallas to watch.”
Rookie guard Moses Moody made his sixth start of the season Tuesday, but he had to leave the game with a left eye contusion, the Warriors announced on Twitter. “He got poked in the eye,” Kerr said after the game, per Cody Taylor of Yahoo Sports. “I think he got elbowed by (Karl-Anthony) Towns on a drive. He went up to go vertical and he got elbowed in the eye and it is pretty bad. His eye is swollen shut.”

Draymond Green Back At Practice, Optimistic About Return

February 26th, 2022 at 7:07pm CST by Arthur Hill

Draymond Green practiced with his Warriors teammates today for the first time since injuring his lower back in early January, writes Kendra Andrews of ESPN.

Green went through 5-on-0 conditioning and participated in shooting drills and “a lot” of other drills during today’s session. He told Andrews that he has improved a lot in the weeks since suffering the injury.

“My progress has been tremendous,” Green said. “I think, where I am today, if you knew where I was eight weeks ago or seven weeks ago, it’s night and day.”

Green was cleared to resume basketball activities in late January, but he was limited to individual workouts until today. A lot of those involved lifting weights, and Green said he can feel the benefits.

“I’m stronger than I’ve ever been in my life,” he said. “… I spent six weeks just sitting in the weight room, working in there for four, five hours a day.”

According to Andrews, the Warriors’ training staff will monitor Green’s conditioning, strength and explosiveness to determine when he can resume scrimmaging and eventually return to game action. There are no set standards that Green has to reach, and the decision will be determined by his progress.

During coverage of Sunday’s All-Star Game, Green estimated that he might be ready in three to four weeks. He was less definite today, but said he anticipates playing in at least a few games before the regular season ends.

“As soon as I feel like I’m whole and can get back out there and get my feet back under me before the playoffs, great,” Green said. “If that’s 15 games, fantastic. If it’s 10, I’ll make do. If it’s five, then five is going to have to work.”

Injury Updates: Warriors, George, Smart, Porzingis

February 24th, 2022 at 1:50pm CST by Rory Maher

Veteran swingman Andre Iguodala continues to deal with back soreness and is out for the Warriors Thursday night at Portland, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets. The 38-year-old, who missed 13 of Golden State’s last 14 games leading into the All-Star break, has been productive when healthy, but has played just 26 games to this point.

Draymond Green and James Wiseman are also out Thursday, Slater reports in the same tweet. Wiseman did travel with the team, however, and appears to be inching closer to a return, as he was a full participant in Golden State’s scrimmage Wednesday night, per Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area (Twitter link). A recent report indicated Wiseman might make his season debut on March 1, but coach Steve Kerr says there are no firm next steps for when the young big man will return.

Green has been dealing with a back/disc injury and said during All-Star Weekend that he hopes to return within three or four weeks.

Here are some more injury-related updates from around the league:

Clippers star Paul George, who’s currently sidelined with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, was scheduled to have an MRI on Thursday but it has been pushed back to Friday, according to Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times (via Twitter).
Celtics guard Marcus Smart suffered an ankle injury February 15 at Philadelphia, but he says it’s gotten better over the All-Star break. “Feeling pretty good. Honestly, the night of the injury was pretty harsh for me. Couldn’t put any pressure on it, but over the break, was able to get some sun and did some cool things to work on it. Swelling’s gone down,” Smart said (Twitter link via Jared Weiss of The Athletic).
The Wizards traded for Kristaps Porzingis on February 10, but it sounds like they’ll continue to have to wait for his debut. He wasn’t a full participant in practice Wednesday or Thursday and coach Wes Unseld Jr. says Porzingis will be ramped up over a period of time, going from one-on-one to three-on-three then five-on-five. He has no definitive timetable for a return and is considered day-to-day going forward (All Twitter links from Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington).

Draymond Green Hopes To Return Within 3-4 Weeks

February 21st, 2022 at 8:28am CST by Luke Adams

Working his second job as a TNT analyst during Sunday’s All-Star Game, Warriors forward Draymond Green offered a rough timeline for his return from a back/disc injury that has sidelined him since January 9.

Asked by TNT’s Charles Barkley when he’ll be “coming out of retirement,” Green laughed, then replied, “Hopefully within three to four weeks, that’s what I’m shooting for” (video link via Rob Lopez of FanDuel).

As usual, Green’s scoring numbers have been modest this season through 34 games (29.9 MPG), but he has supplemented his 7.9 PPG with 7.6 RPG, 7.4 APG, and stellar defense.

The Warriors still have the NBA’s best defensive rating (104.6), but they haven’t been nearly as effective on that side of the ball since Green went down. That league-best defensive rating was at 101.9 after January 9 — since then, the club has recorded a 109.9 mark.

Golden State is also waiting on James Wiseman‘s return from a knee injury that has kept him on the shelf for the entire 2021/22 season so far. Wiseman, who has participated in 5-on-5 scrimmages, said last week that he’s in the final stages of his rehab process, so the expectation is that both he and Green will be back well before the playoffs get underway in mid-April.

Warriors Notes: Wiseman, Kuminga, Green, Buyout Market

February 17th, 2022 at 7:17am CST by Arthur Hill

A year ago, James Wiseman was the only member of the Warriors‘ youth movement, writes Josh Schrock of NBC Sports Bay Area. As a rookie center with only three games of college experience, Wiseman was asked to contribute right away for a franchise that had gotten used to competing for titles. He played 39 games, starting 27, before knee surgery brought his season to an early end.

This year, Wiseman has been joined by lottery picks Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody, along with Jordan Poole, who is already a dangerous scorer at age 22. Like many in the organization, Wiseman is optimistic about the team’s future and is especially impressed by Kuminga, who has been added to the Rising Stars Challenge.

“I’m actually proud of the dude because he works hard every day,” Wiseman said of Kuminga. “I’m just very proud that he is out there doing his thing.”

There’s more on the Warriors:

Wiseman continues to make progress toward his season debut, participating in a 5-on-5 scrimmage on Tuesday, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Wiseman described himself as being in the late stages of the rehab process and said he expects to play a little in the G League before returning for the Warriors.
Golden State issued a health update on Draymond Green, saying the veteran big man is expected back sometime after the All-Star break. Green has missed 19 straight games with lower back issues, and the next update likely won’t come until he returns to practice.
General manager Bob Myers said during an appearance on 95.7 The Game that the expected returns of Green and Wiseman influenced his decision to not be active on the trade market. “If we thought Draymond was not going to be back, or Wiseman, and we thought some player would really help us, we would do that,” Myers said, per Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area. “At this stage, as far as clamoring for a big guy, there isn’t an obvious, ‘Go get that guy,’ and he fits with what we do and can run our offense. It’s not just taking any big and saying, ‘This guy’s going to be able to rebound, block shots and be able to run your offense.’ Our offense is intricate. Our offense is complicated.”
Coach Steve Kerr echoed the same sentiment, indicating that the Warriors don’t plan to chase anyone who gets bought out, tweets Kendra Andrews of ESPN. “Our issues go way beyond not having enough size,” Kerr said. “… If there is a player that good, he’s not on the buyout market.”

Pacific Notes: James, Davis, Fox, Haliburton, Rubio, Green, Wiseman

February 7th, 2022 at 8:03pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Lakers VP of basketball operations Rob Pelinka has remained in regular communication with LeBron James and Anthony Davis to discuss potential trades, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, but Pelinka has done that in the past. James is prepared to play out the season with the current roster.

“I don’t really like to play fantasy basketball, so this is the group that we have going into the deadline and we’ll be ready to take on all challenges that this season has given us,” James said. “If there’s an opportunity — I’ve said this every year – if there’s an opportunity for you to get better, then you explore those options. That’s always been (my stance).”

The Lakers don’t have a lot of flexibility with three max deals on their cap.

We have more from the Pacific Division:

The Kings would still prefer to build around De’Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton, sources told the Sacramento Bee’s Jason Anderson. Fox is in the first year of a five-year, $163MM max contract extension. This comes on the heels of a report that the Knicks are interested in Fox and that some people around the NBA believe Sacramento hasn’t given up on its pursuit of Ben Simmons.
Injured guard Ricky Rubio, who just had his expiring contract moved from Cleveland to Indiana, said in a recent Spanish media interview (hat tip to Hoops Hype) that he wouldn’t mind eventually playing with the Warriors. “It would be nice to play with (Stephen) Curry and Klay Thompson,” Rubio said.
While the Warriors might be in the market for frontcourt help, GM Bob Myers said the best solution would be to get Draymond Green and James Wiseman back in action, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets. “We’re being told that both of those guys, Draymond and James, will be available and back to help up with some games to go,” he said. “I don’t know if it’ll be 20, 25, 15. But we think those two will help us more than anything we’re looking at on the market.”

LaMelo Ball, Dejounte Murray Named All-Star Replacements

February 7th, 2022 at 3:16pm CST by Luke Adams

Hornets guard LaMelo Ball will replace injured Nets forward Kevin Durant in the All-Star Game, while Spurs guard Dejounte Murray will take the place of injured Warriors forward Draymond Green, the NBA announced today in a press release. Commissioner Adam Silver named Ball and Murray as replacement players.

Previous reported had indicated that Durant (MCL sprain) and Green (back/disc) would miss the All-Star Game in Cleveland on February 20 due to their respective injuries, so it comes as no surprise that a pair of replacements have been added to the 12-man rosters for the event. There’s no indication at this point that any other All-Stars will have to miss the game, though that could change in the next couple weeks.

Ball has averaged 19.6 PPG, 7.5 APG, and 7.1 RPG in 47 games (32.1 MPG) this season for the Hornets. He beat out a handful of worthy candidates – including teammate Miles Bridges, Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen, Bucks guard Jrue Holiday, Celtics wing Jaylen Brown, Pacers center Domantas Sabonis, and Raptors forward Pascal Siakam – to be named Durant’s replacement.

Like Ball, Murray has filled up the box score this season in a breakout season in San Antonio. He has put up 19.6 PPG, 9.2 APG, and 8.4 RPG with a league-leading 2.1 SPG in 47 games (34.4 MPG). Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram, Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, Lakers big man Anthony Davis, and Suns forward Mikal Bridges were among the other candidates to be named Green’s replacement.

Since Durant was a starter, Celtics forward Jayson Tatum has been moved into the starting lineup, per the league. Tatum was the next-highest vote-getter among Eastern Conference frontcourt players.

Durant is still one of the two All-Star captains, along with LeBron James, and will be responsible for drafting his All-Star roster.