Kerr: Cousins ‘not that close’ to return

Before Monday night’s game against Memphis, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr made one thing certain: It’s going to be a while before center DeMarcus Cousins returns from his torn left Achilles tendon.

“I’ve thought about different combinations, who we would play him with, that sort of thing,” Kerr said. “But we’re also really not that close. I don’t want this to be about, ‘Hey, we’re right there.’ We’re not right there. It’s still going to be some time.”

For the third time in a week, Cousins practiced Monday with Golden State’s G League affiliate in Santa Cruz. Kerr had yet to talk with Cousins or Santa Cruz head coach Aaron Miles, but he chatted with director of sports medicine and performance Rick Celebrini, who told him “DeMarcus had a really good day.”

There had been discussion in recent weeks that Cousins would return sometime around New Year’s Day. At this point, a return closer to the All-Star break in midFebruary appears more plausible.

Though Cousins hasn’t had any setbacks in his rehab, he still needs to get his conditioning and find a rhythm after having not played an NBA game in 11 months. The typical recovery timetable for an Achilles injury is between eight and 12 months, and Cousins’ size (6-foot-11, 270 pounds) makes his rehab only trickier.

With four months until the playoffs, the Warriors are in no rush to get the four-time All-Star into an NBA game.

“We’re going to be patient and continue to give DeMarcus the time he needs to prepare,” Kerr said. “When the time is right, we’ll have some things planned for him.”