Draymond Green to miss rest of Golden State Warriors’ preseason،
SAN FRANCISCO — Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green will miss the final two preseason games as he recovers from a left lateral ankle sprain, the Warriors announced Tuesday, putting his status on hold for the opening game of the regular season.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Green was considered “questionable” for their regular season opener, scheduled for Oct. 24 against the Phoenix Suns.
Green has been cleared to begin light on-field workouts, such as shooting drills, but will not yet return to full-squad practice or scrimmages. He will be re-evaluated again on Sunday.
“I just talked to him and he felt good in practice today,” Kerr said after Tuesday’s practice. He’s moving around, he’s doing some drills on the field and by the end of the week, hopefully he’ll be playing 3-on-3. We’ll re-evaluate at that point.”
Kerr said he wouldn’t put Green in a game without having some 5-on-5 action under his belt. The hope is that Green will play 3-on-3 by Friday, then move to 5-on-5 for Sunday’s practice.
Green was injured the week before training camp began during a pickup game at Chase Center.
“I’m healing pretty quickly, so I feel like I’m getting better quickly, and that’s good,” Green said at media day, three days after spraining his ankle. “[I] I didn’t really plan for this at the start of the season, but everything happens for a reason. I think I’m excited because we have a very successful team, and I’ll be in even better shape by the time – whenever that is – when I start playing. »
The Warriors host the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday and the San Antonio Spurs on Friday to round out their preseason slate.
Green, 33, enters his 12th season in the NBA with a new four-year contract extension worth $100 million under his belt.
Last season, Green played in 73 games, nursing several nagging injuries, including his back, neck, foot and knee. Two seasons ago, he missed a month with a back injury.
Cory Joseph, who missed training camp and preseason games because of a lower back strain, has returned to team practice and scrimmages, the Warriors said. He is listed as questionable for Wednesday’s game against the Kings.
Rodney McGruder, who is with the Warriors on the training camp roster, has complied with the league’s concussion protocol and returned to full practice, but Golden State will not play against Sacramento. Like Green, the team wants him to get more scrimmages under his belt before playing a game.
