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As the Golden State Warriors prepare for the 2021 NBA Draft, head coach Steve Kerr is trying to help the US team win another gold at the Tokyo Olympics.
Kerr is Gregg Popovich’s assistant coach for games, but is still heavily involved in the Dubs’ offseason plans. Kerr joined Damon, Ratto and Kolsky on 95.7 The Game for an interview and was asked how All-Star goalie Klay Thompson was doing as he recovered from his injury to Achilles.
“The good news is [that] really been diligent with his work. He and Rick Celebrini have been working closely together all summer, he is on schedule. He’s been on the ground running for a few weeks. I think the light is finally at the end of the tunnel.
“But you know, we’re getting closer to the season, and he’s getting closer and closer, obviously we’re going to be very, very careful and we’ll be relying on the advice of our coaching staff to let us know when he’s ready. to play.”
Thompson has missed consecutive seasons with serious injuries. He tore his ACL in Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals and was set to return for the start of the 2020-21 campaign.
Sadly, Thompson suffered an Achilles on the day of the 2020 NBA Draft last November. Kerr said the usual time frame for a player to fully recover from an Achilles injury is usually a year, so the Warriors don’t plan on rushing back to the five-time All-Star.
No one knows what to expect from Thompson when he returns. He’s one of the best shooters in NBA history and one of Golden State’s best defensive players for years.
Kerr has a shining example of how good a player can be when he returns from an Achilles injury right in front of him for the next few weeks. Former warrior Kevin Durant represents the United States team at the Olympics just over two years after tearing his Achilles apart in the 2019 final against the Toronto Raptors.
Kevin is absolutely an inspiration to Klay and those of us who train Klay because Kevin doesn’t look any different to me who trains him now than he was two years ago when he was training him. was playing for the Warriors, so that’s really very encouraging.
Like Thompson, Durant missed the entire 2019-20 campaign while recovering from the injury. He’s appeared in 35 games for the Brooklyn Nets this season and was his usual dominant self, registering 26.9 points and 7.1 rebounds while shooting 45% off the 3-point line.
James Wiseman is another player who has been in the spotlight for the Dubs this offseason. The Big Man had a top-down rookie season and was mentioned as a possible trade bait. According to John Hollinger of The Athletic, Golden State explored business opportunities involving Wiseman and their lottery pick pair (# 7 and # 14).
But Kerr is still high on the Memphis product.
“He’s really a sponge and the guy wants to learn, wants to work, wants to be a big part of the team, very motivated. James is just a good boy. I think it reinforced what we thought before last year’s draft.
Wiseman averaged 11.5 points and 5.8 rebounds in 21.4 minutes per game, but consistency issues plagued the 20-year-old. Golden State’s net score was 11.4 points better per 100 possessions with Wiseman on the bench. His defensive rating of 110.6 is the fourth worst of any Warrior who has played significant minutes, per NBA.com.
Due to the pandemic, Wiseman’s rookie season did not go under ideal circumstances, especially for a guy who only played three games in college. Additionally, Wiseman missed development time due to the team’s facility being closed due to COVID-19 restrictions.
On top of that, Wiseman faced some bad luck during his rookie campaign. In February, he missed three weeks with a wrist injury and was out of the roster for three more games in March due to NBA health and safety protocols before tearing his meniscus.
Kerr believes that all of these factors played a role in hampering Wiseman’s development.
“Obviously, the flip side of the injury as well as not having a summer league last year or this year, and not having a training camp last year, all of this the just put it behind where it would have been otherwise. “
Still, Kerr is high on Wiseman for next season. The Dubs are trying to reload for another championship run, and Kerr intends to give Wiseman plenty of opportunities to play a big part in the team’s success.
“We’re going to start James from opening night, and see what he’s got, and then throw him in the deep end a bit. I think this year will be much more streamlined. Let’s put him in positions where he can really help us on game night and where we can really help him develop it in practice, and as this process goes on he will have one more chance to play. plus if he’s willing to help us win games. .
“And if not, that’s good, we will continue to develop it because it is 20 years old. I know everyone is impatient [and] wants it to be awesome, but it doesn’t work that way.
You can listen to the full interview below.
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