Warriors eye returns of Klay Thompson, James Wiseman as they hit the road
The two injured Golden State stars will stay behind on the upcoming road
trip to continue their recovery from injuries
>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 3: Golden State Warriors’ Klay
Thompson (11) and Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry (30) watch the
game from the bench against the Charlotte Hornets in the third quarter
at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, Nov. 3,
2021. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 3: Golden State Warriors’ Klay
Thompson (11) and Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry (30) watch the
game from the bench against the Charlotte Hornets in the third quarter
at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, Nov. 3,
2021. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
By EVAN WEBECK | ewebeck@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: November 12, 2021 at 6:59 p.m. | UPDATED: November 12, 2021
at 7:09 p.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2021/11/12/warriors-eye-returns-of-klay-thompson-james-wiseman-as-they-hit-the-road/

SAN FRANCISCO — The Warriors hit the road for the next week, but two
players will stay behind with the hope that one of, if not both, James
Wiseman and Klay Thompson’s returns could be on the horizon when they
come home from a four-game East Coast swing.

There is still no official timetable for either player, but both have
advanced to playing three-on-three or four-on-four, one of the final
steps before returning to full participation in practice. They’ll spend
the week ahead rehabbing at the Warriors facility rather than
accompanying the team on the road.

“You just hope to ramp it up from there,” coach Steve Kerr said this
week. “That would be the idea: ramping things up while we’re on the road.”

Kerr and the training staff developed a plan for how to use the next
week for both players but declined to share any further details Friday
before the finale of their homestand against the Chicago Bulls.

The Warriors’ G League affiliate has an overlapping road trip, which
could complicate potential in-house competition for Thompson and Wiseman
but Kerr was confident it wouldn’t be a problem.

“We have the resources to be able to put them through the work,” Kerr
said. “We have additional people who can come in and play as well
locally. We’ll be creative.”

Thompson, the star shooting guard who has missed the past two seasons
with ACL and Achilles injuries, has started playing four-on-four,
general manager Bob Myers said Thursday during an appearance on 95.7 AM.
It’s coming up on the one-year mark since he underwent surgery on his
torn right Achilles, Nov. 25, 2020.

Wiseman’s rookie season was marred by health concerns and eventually
ended prematurely by a torn meniscus after the Warriors made him the
second overall selection in the NBA draft two years ago. Since going
under the knife April 15, his approach to his recovery has been
“incremental,” according to Kerr, but it is entering its final stages.

“He’s doing more and more each day,” Kerr said. “There hasn’t been that
‘ah-ha’ moment where he just took this leap. We’ve been purposely
deliberate the last couple of months and just slowly ramping things up.
He’s moving well and he’s engaged in a lot of drill work in practice and
doing 5-on-0 stuff. … Over the next couple weeks, there should be
three-on-three involved, and you just hope to ramp it up from there.”

The exact timeline for both players’ returns will be determined by how
their bodies adjust to five-on-five competition.

Their roles and expectations when they return are also still unclear.

Both figure to play an important part in a potential playoff run, but
that is months down the road. In the immediate future, consider both
players have gone months without facing NBA-level speed and competition.

The Warriors have been clear that Wiseman won’t be the focal point of
the offense that he was often relied upon to be during a turbulent
rookie season. Thompson, no doubt, will reclaim his starting role — but
there’s no guarantee it happens immediately upon his return.

“I guess I think he would start. I don’t know, though,” Myers said in
his radio interview. “Klay’s gonna decide, I imagine. If he wants to
start, I don’t think we’d say no. … Starting or not, that’s Steve Kerr.
… Klay’s gonna decide, I imagine. If he wants to start, I don’t think
we’d say no.”

The Warriors’ hope is to get Thompson back before Christmas, ESPN’s
Adrian Wojnarowski reported this week.

The plan, according to the report, entails Thompson sticking back on the
Warriors’ next extended road trip at the start of December and
potentially rejoining the team when they return home.

>RELATED ARTICLES
Draymond Green’s football tape does not impress the Manning brothers
Warriors on facing Durant again: ‘We all love each other and respect
each other’
Steph Curry gets second Player of the Week honor in Warriors’ young
season
How Jonathan Kuminga has earned his place in the Warriors’ rotation
Warriors 3 Things: Don’t fret the loss to the Hornets — celebrate the
emergence of Jonathan Kuminga

The team has said publicly that Thompson’s first game back will come in
front of the home fans. According to Wojnarowski, they are targeting the
Dec. 20 contest against Sacramento for Thompson’s long-awaited return.

Unlike Wiseman, Thompson has yet to be cleared for full practice.

Wiseman is believed to be closer to competition-ready, with Golden State
reportedly targeting the week of Thanksgiving for his return to the court.

--
Evan Webeck | Reporter
Evan Webeck covers high-school sports on the field and beyond — and a
little bit of everything else — for the Bay Area News Group. A Pacific
Northwest native and graduate of Arizona State, Evan has previously
worked for The Seattle Times, MLB.com and Sports Illustrated.