The Golden State Warriors are shelving out Klay Thompson for the club’s NBA Japan Games with the Washington Wizards.
Thompson already sat down on both team’s preseason opener this Friday, wherein the Dubs notched a 96-87 victory within the energetic, jam-packed Saitama Arena.
The reason behind Thompson’s continuing unavailability is quite obvious according to head coach Steve Kerr.
“Just common sense,” Kerr said, via Alex Espinoza of 95.7 The Game. “Just coming off the two years with the injuries, this is really unique to play a game after three and a half practices. We’re just being cautious and trying to do the smart thing.”
The sweet shooting All-star swingman was sidelined for two straight seasons after suffering from ACL (2019) and Achilles (2020) tears, respectively. He was only able to return to action in Golden State’s near-mid part of last season in January. Eventually, he helped the franchise in reviving its dynastic state in the NBA, winning their fourth title in an eight-year span.
“We just feel more comfortable giving him more of a ramp up,” Kerr said. “He’s just not quite ready to play at this point, just based on where we are so early in camp. We just want to be safe and make sure he gets a good ramp up before games.”
Following a pair of preseason contests against the Wizards, the Warriors will fly back home to the Bay Area to host their remaining three warmup games inside the Chase Center before officially commencing their 22-23 campaign in an opener against the Los Angeles Lakers.
