SAN FRANCISCO — The explanations behind Andrew Wiggins’ absence from the Warriors for the final seven weeks stay murky.
The difficulty is that Wiggins’ quick future with the crew is simply as murky.
Wiggins and Warriors president of basketball operations Bob Myers shared the Chase Middle dais earlier than Tuesday’s recreation with the Thunder, and neither wished to speak about why Wiggins has been away from the crew.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr was additionally imprecise about Wiggins’ household “scenario.”
The best way the Warriors and Wiggins view it, that’s all of the previous. It’s historical historical past. There’s no purpose to look again at it.
Nonetheless, they're eager to maneuver ahead with Wiggins again with the crew.
The issue: nobody is aware of when Wiggins will return to the court docket.
Wiggins wanted time to take care of his scenario — no matter it might need been. We will all relate to that.
And it’s undoubtedly cool that his employer had his again throughout that course of, not solely offering him that point, but in addition affording him a stage of privateness that also persists.
However now the Warriors want time to determine the best way to carry Wiggins again into the fold.
And time is the one factor this crew doesn’t have.
For these with the cynical view that consider no good deed goes unpunished, the Warriors’ dealing with of Wiggins’ household difficulty is likely to be a working example.
The Warriors did the precise factor. They haven't any regrets.
Myers and Kerr — the spokesmen for the group — referred to granting Wiggins’ request for time away as a “no-brainer” determination.
“On this case, Andrew wanted to be away,” Myers stated. “No matter he wanted, we wished to assist.”
And I don’t get the sense that was merely one thing stated for the cameras on Tuesday. There was an authenticity to the priority that Myers and Kerr each expressed.
In the meantime, Wiggins is as guarded as any participant within the league, however his appreciation for the way the Dubs dealt with “the scenario” appeared real too.
However this was no win-win. The Warriors felt the price of Wiggins’ absence.
They nonetheless are. Even with him again with the crew and searching slim, the Warriors want time to guage Wiggins’ health stage after his lengthy stretch away.
Wiggins is mentally able to return to the court docket, however is he days or perhaps weeks away from being bodily able to return?
“Taking it day-by-day,” Wiggins stated.
In a perfect world, Wiggins would spend the subsequent week or so constructing as much as the proverbial “NBA form.” Then he and the crew would take all of subsequent week to mentally put together for a first-round playoff sequence.
However within the Warriors’ world, their season may very well be over in every week or so.
Having Wiggins on the court docket might assist stave off that grim future.
The Dubs have two regular-season video games remaining following Tuesday’s victory over Oklahoma Metropolis. Given the logjam across the Warriors within the standings, each video games may very well be essential for Golden State to keep away from subsequent week’s play-in match — the one postseason this crew is at the moment assured.
These can be nice video games to have a two-way wing — the sort of participant who wins video games this time of yr — within the lineup.
However the Warriors don’t know if Wiggins can play Friday in Sacramento or Sunday in Portland.
“We’ll simply sort of see,” Kerr stated. “I believe we’ll have a greater thought within the subsequent couple of days.”
Sure, the Warriors want some good karma to return into play for them.
As a result of whereas Wiggins did work out throughout his absence, he did so alone — eschewing the Warriors’ supply to have a coach go to him.
“He most well-liked to work on his personal, which was high-quality,” Kerr stated.
And even when he had been with a Dubs coach, it’s arduous to think about these exercises would have maintained Wiggins’ NBA readiness. That’s a excessive bar.
Nonetheless, there's a sense that the Warriors are nearing completeness. The crew is mostly wholesome, and Gary Payton II is again within the fold after his sojourn in Portland and belly harm. Now that Wiggins — the crew’s second-best participant in final yr’s postseason — is again with the crew, it’s simpler to see the 2022 champions repeating.
They definitely weren’t going to win a title with out Two-Method Wiggs.
However will he be again on the court docket quickly sufficient for the Warriors to mount a critical protection?
