Klay Thompson’s return could be just four days away, as coach Steve Kerr recently acknowledged it’s “possible” the sharpshooter could rejoin the Warriors Sunday against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
When speaking with The Athletic’s Anthony Slater Tuesday in the Dallas area, Kerr said he expects to play Klay on a 15-20 minutes restriction while “there’s a good chance” he could be rested in back-to-back situations as well. Those 15-20 minutes will eat into the total of 240 minutes Kerr gets to toy with every game – 48 for each man on the floor.
Thompson joined the Warriors on a recent road trip and got the rare chance to scrimmage with his first-string teammates in Denver after a game was postponed. Kerr said that Klay is getting back in the zone.
“We could sense it on the road trip in Denver and Utah last week,” Kerr said. “He was really excited. He’s in a great place mentally, physically, spiritually. He’s almost there.”
Jordan Poole is already making his adjustment.
Since returning from a six-game absence due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols, and subsequent reconditioning, Poole has come off the bench for the past two contests after starting 28 games to begin the year. He dropped 32 points in 26 minutes in Monday’s 115-108 victory over the Miami Heat, supplying much-needed offense on a night when Thompson warmed up in front of the fans and got a taste of a normal pregame routine.
Poole started off his press conference a bit terse, however, before opening up more on a follow-up question. Here’s the full Q&A for context:
Q: Second game coming off the bench, how’s that going for you?
A: Umm. We got a big win today against a good team. Yeah.
Q: What adjustments does the new role come with?
A: I’ve been through it with a couple different players, our rotation will be a little bit different. Trying to find the timing, as opposed to starting the game. Coming in, you gotta feel out the momentum a little bit, see what’s working for us, see what isn’t, see how they’re guarding Steph or Wiggs or Klay when he comes back. It’s a lot of stuff, but I also was in this role a little bit last year.
Poole answered the questions but his reaction to the first query was notable to me. No one wants to get demoted in the NBA and lose their starting role and the minutes that come with it. Not even when one of the greatest shooters ever is the guy replacing you.
Draymond Green relished his short time warming up with Thompson and Steph Curry before Monday’s game. After the win, he gave an insightful answer about how the locker room is approaching Klay’s comeback.
“We still have at least two games with everybody playing the same exact roles they’ve been playing,” Green said Monday. “So you don’t want to jump the gun and get ahead of ourselves. In saying that, I think you feel it. There’s no idiots on this team as you can see in our play. Guys understand what’s ahead. I think as a leader, there will be a time where you gotta step in and more importantly keep guys spirits up.”
“There’s going to be some pissed off guys because you want to be out there, regardless if Klay Thompson is back. As a leader, you appreciate that. I don’t want a guy on the team who’s just OK with sitting on the bench. If there’s a guy on the team who’s just OK sitting on the bench, when his opportunity comes he won’t be ready. There are going to be some guys that are upset. There should be some guys that’s going to be upset. Not upset because you’re a better player than Klay Thompson, but because you put the work in and you want to play. That’s just the nature of what we do.
“But in saying that, as a leader, you have make sure that ‘upset’ – if that is a word – is bottled up and works for you as opposed to working against us. I think that’s the biggest thing for us as leaders, myself, Andre, Steph, Klay as he comes back.”
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If Thompson returns Sunday and the Warriors keep their current roster intact, that’d make for a season-high 16 healthy players – with James Wiseman as the team’s lone exception. Two-way players Chris Chiozza and Quinndary Weatherspoon will have a tough time cracking the rotation, along with rookies Moses Moody and Jonathan Kuminga. When Klay comes back, minutes might be even hard to find for role players like Juan Toscano-Anderson, Damion Lee and Nemanja Bjelica.
Kerr will likely rely on this core rotation: Curry, Thompson, Green, Poole, Andrew Wiggins, Kevon Looney, Gary Payton II, Otto Porter Jr. with Andre Iguodala mixed in when healthy. That already brings Kerr up to nine bodies. Kerr said it will be “very difficult” to divide up the minutes when Thompson returns.
“They all deserve to play, but they can’t,” Kerr said. “It doesn’t work that way.”
But as Green said, “it is an issue, but it’s the best issue you can have.”
Draymond added that he thinks Kerr is well-equipped to handle the task that lies ahead.
“One thing about Steve Kerr, he’s not leaving anybody on the bench,” Green said. “That’s not how he coaches. He’s never coached that way and I don’t expect him to start now. There may be a three-game stretch where you don’t play, but it wont be a seven-game stretch, it won’t be a 10-game stretch like you see on some teams around the league, that’s just not how Steve operates.”
