With James Wiseman advancing to full-contact 5-on-5 workouts on Tuesday, for the first time in more than 10 months, there finally is some clarity regarding his return to the Warriors.
Barring yet another setback – and all has gone well in recent weeks, according to team sources – the 7-foot-1 center conceivably could be ready for game action within a couple weeks after the Feb. 17-23 All-Star break.
Wiseman’s entry into the final stage of his recovery was mentioned Tuesday morning by Warriors president/general manager Bob Myers on 95.7 The Game and later confirmed by NBC Sports Bay Area.
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Wiseman’s presence will address an acute need – one the Warriors, with his return looming, chose not address at the trade deadline. Insofar as he has not played this season, they consider him – and the return of Draymond Green – as trade-deadline acquisitions that greatly diminish the probability of exploring the buyout 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 told 95.7 The Game Tuesday morning.
“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.”
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Golden State Warriors
The Warriors have lost three of four games largely because they’ve been mauled by opposing big men. Rim protection was an issue, and they were outrebounded, by an average of 11.5 per game, in all three losses. And starting center Kevon Looney is showing the effects of playing every game.
Since posting eight double-digit rebounding games while averaging 11.1 over an 11-game span that ended Feb. 1, Looney averaged 6.5 with one double-digit game over the last six.
“I think I need a break,” he conceded Tuesday night, after grabbing three rebounds in 19 minutes. “Everybody is looking forward to the All-Star break.”
That’s where Wiseman comes in. Though the Warriors anticipate sending him to Santa Cruz for one or two games to get his timing in the G League, the hope is that he will be ready for NBA action by early March – if not sooner.
Unlike Klay Thompson, who spent six weeks participating in 5-on-5 workouts, Wiseman had a shorter layoff and by all accounts is facing a considerably shorter turnaround. That’s partly because Klay immediately entered the starting lineup with an eye toward increasing his minutes into the mid-30s before the postseason, whereas Wiseman will come off the bench and is slotted for fewer minutes.