Like the rest of the Bay Area and NBA world, Zaza Pachulia can't wait to see Klay Thompson make his return for the Warriors.
When the five-time All-Star's return date is finally announced, Pachulia promises he will get Klay to Chase Center in style by being the co-captain of Thompson's boat for the night.
"I promise I’ll do that," Pachulia told 95.7 The Game's "The Morning Roast" on Tuesday about riding in the boat with Klay on the night of his return. "I’m so excited for that day, guys. We’ll be ready. We’ll be cheering for him. I’m going to bring my A-game, my most expensive suit I have."
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Thompson won't travel with the Warriors on their upcoming five-game road trip, but most expect the star guard to return sometime around Christmas.
Steph Curry and the rest of the Warriors have been encouraged and excited with what they have seen from their teammate in scrimmages both with Golden State and down in Santa Cruz.
"Thank god he still remembers how to shoot the ball," Curry said after the Warriors' 118-96 win over the Phoenix Suns last Friday night at Chase Center. "That hasn't changed at all, seems like he's got a good pep in his step and good energy out there, just his body movements and all that. It's hard to get a feel for the speed and intensity of when we watch it on film, they showed a highlight package of his second scrimmage they had down in Santa Cruz and some of, well most of his shots it looked like he was just out there confident having fun knocking them down.
"I know he talks about his wind and obviously he's been out for as long as he has, that's going to take time. I think the good part about just seeing him commit to what this process is is that it's working and he's feeling a little bit more and more like himself with every rep he gets. Then when it's time to translate that to getting him back in real game settings, he'll be ready. So it's great to see."
Golden State Warriors
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With Thompson's return now a "matter of weeks," according to head coach Steve Kerr, the Warriors are starting to factor the Splash Brother's return into their offensive calculus.
"When teams are going to commit people to Steph the way that Phoenix did, there is going to be openings," Kerr last Tuesday after the Warriors' loss to the Suns in Phoenix. "There is going to be openings for Jordan [Poole], openings for Otto [Porter Jr.], guys who have knocked down a bunch of threes, and there will be openings for Klay Thompson. It's going to be fun."
Thompson's return will be quite the Chase Center spectacle, and it appears the Warriors star will have a co-captain to escort him to a night that will be almost 1,000 days in the making.