No one can wait for Klay Day.
Klay Thompson’s return date is creeping into view, with ESPN reporting that the Warriors superstar could rejoin his teammates Sunday against the Cleveland Cavaliers. So when Warriors president of basketball operations/general manager Bob Myers joined 95.7 The Game’s “The Morning Roast: Executive Show” for his bi-weekly appearance Tuesday, Klay’s comeback was the first topic of conversation. You can listen to the full interview below:
“It’s right there,” Myers told Bonta Hill and Joe Shasky. “I can’t promise it’s going to be Sunday, because we haven’t put that official stamp on the whole thing. But when [director of sports medicine and performance] Rick [Celibrini] says it and Klay says it, we’ll go. It’s coming. I just don’t want to say something that isn’t entirely true or accurate. But it's very close.”
Thompson shared a special moment with the Chase Center crowd, Steph Curry and Draymond Green during Monday’s pregame warmups. For the first time since their days at Oracle Arena, the trio of Warriors put some shots up together and shared the court shortly before tip-off. Tick tock. Thompson looks like he’s getting in the mental zone to return to his game routine.
Earlier in the day Monday, Myers said he spoke to Thompson in the weight room about the team’s impending plans and how he was feeling. Thing was, Thompson was rocking his SF Giants-issued captain’s hat after using his boat to get to work that day.
“I just said, ‘Can you take the hat off, man?’” Myers said. “I can’t take you seriously when you’ve got your captain’s hat on. And he looked at me and goes, ‘Bro, I drove the boat into work. That’s what I do.’”
Myers also gave an update on second-year center James Wiseman, who hasn’t played in game – or even full-contact scrimmages – since April 10, 2021, when he tore his meniscus landing awkwardly on a dunk attempt. Wiseman returned from the NBA’s health and safety protocols Monday and took part in the team’s morning shootaround.
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“He was getting close and then COVID happened,” Myers said. “He’s right there to start doing some live stuff, whether it’s the end of this week, or next week. That’s really been kind of the last thing. Once you’re there, then it becomes game reps and real scrimmaging whether we get that in the city with the team, which is kind of hard to do, depends on the schedule.
“In Santa Cruz they’ve suspended the G League. I think that’s going to get that back up and running soon, he’ll get some stuff there. Klay didn’t play in a game, but he spent a lot of time as everyone knows working out with those guys. So James is going to have to go through that part. For us, it’s really that part. After that, it’s what does he look like?”
Crazy to think the 29-7 Warriors are about to be infused with two talented players like Thompson and Wiseman. The league’s best team is about to get more loaded in the coming weeks.
