Warriors: New digs, lots of unknowns.
SAN FRANCISCO >> The Warriors had some surprising medical news to share Monday at their annual media day, and it wasn’t that Klay Thompson won’t be back until after the All-Star break, if then. That was fully expected.
The surprise was that Willie Cauley-Stein will miss training camp.
Cauley-Stein, who signed two-year, $4.4 million free agent contract in July, sustained a left mid-foot strain last week while scrimmaging. He was projected to be the Warriors starting center when the season opens Oct. 24.
“It’s disappointing,” GM Bob Myers said upon announcing the news. “You’d like to have new players get acclimated in camp.”
Cauley-Stein, 26, averaged 11.9 points and 8.4 rebounds in 27.3 minutes per game last season for the Sacramento Kings. He made his way to the podium Monday with a crutch under each arm of his 7-foot frame.
“I feel like training camp is an important part of the year, just building that camaraderie together and really starting that battle going into the journey of the season,” Cauley-Stein said. “So missing that and kind of being on your own is tough.”
It won’t be easy on the Warriors if Cauley-Stein is out much beyond this month. Kevon Looney can easily slide into the starting lineup, but the bench depth, already in question, will become ever more questionable.
THE KLAY UPDATE >> As for Thompson, Myers said: “He’s doing fine.”
More detail, please? “We’ll have another update on him probably around the All-Star break,” Myers said. “Don’t construe that as if we think he’ll be back by the AllStar break. That just means we’ll have an update then.”
The recovery from Thompson’s injury — a torn ACL — gen
erally takes eight months to one year. Thompson suffered the injury to his left knee in Game 6 of the NBA Finals on June 13. The NBA All-Star break is scheduled for mid-February.
Meeting with reporters after Myers’ session, Thompson was asked if he might attempt to beat the target date for his return to the court.
After a pause, he said, “I’m going to do what the team says. I’ve done my due diligence on rehabs and ACL injuries. The last thing you want to do is rush back, especially with a player like me who wants to play into his late 30s. As much as it kills me to not be on the court, patience is a virtue. Rushing back would be not very smart.”
Thompson, 29, who signed a max contract with the Warriors worth $190 million this summer — after his injury — regards his post-operative rehabilitation as a necessary evil.
“It’s been just kind of tedious,” he said. “The workouts, they’re not fun. You’re not on the court putting up jumpers and playing 1-on1. You’re just doing tedious exercises to build strength and confidence to pass the mental hurdles that might hold you back.
“I’m about to enter phase 2 of the rehab and it’s been great. I had surgery July 2, so I’ve made huge strides since then.”
In other news, Thompson’s alma mater, Washington State University, announced it will retire his number during halftime of its Jan. 18 basketball game against Oregon State.
The Warriors have a game that night, at home against Orlando. Presumably, Thompson will skip a night of sitting on the bench in street clothes.
Quiz: Which number did Thompson wear at WSU?
The answer: No. 1.
THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN >> Omari Spellman said Monday he is down to 275 pounds after weighing in at 315 during NBA summer league.
Spellman, who stands 6-9, said he plans to lose 10 more pounds by the Oct. 24 season opener.
“Summer League, I’m pretty sure you guys saw, I was pretty heavy. I was about 315,” Spellman said. “This morning before breakfast I was 275, so still want to get down to about 265.”
The Warriors traded former first-round pick Damian Jones along with a pick to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Spellman in early July, during summer league.
Spellman, who reportedly weighed 293 pounds last year with the Hawks, said he cried when he heard about the trade, knowing it signaled Atlanta was moving on from him just a year after drafting him in the first round (30th overall) from Villanova.
Spellman, 22, expressed gratitude to the Warriors for helping him shed the weight.
“A lot of help from the Golden State Warriors staff, just helping me being consistent, and that was something that I wanted to stress,” Spellman said. “I never verbalized it to them. They just kind of did it organically, helping me just with being consistent. I’m extremely grateful to them for helping them along this process.”
AND NOW, A PARTING WORD FROM DRAYMOND >> Draymond Green acknowledges that this upcoming season is filled with uncertainties. He might even allow that the Warriors are underdogs to reach the Finals for a sixth consecutive year. That is the prevailing opinion.
“I don’t really pay as much attention as I used to because I realize how many people don’t know what the hell they’re talking about when you start talking about basketball,” Green said. “You know, basketball is kind of a sport that everybody thinks they know. You hardly ever just see people like randomly thinking they know football because there’s too much going on. You don’t know what the hell is going on out there for real. Everybody thinks they know basketball.”