Steve Kerr made plenty of headlines on Tuesday when he said that the Golden State Warriors are not expecting Klay Thompson to play in the 2019-20 NBA season following an ACL injury that he suffered during last year's NBA Finals.
Today, Warriors forward Draymond Green echoed Kerr's words, stating that the team will prepare for a full season without Thompson taking the floor.
Draymond says he’s going into the season preparing as if Klay won’t be back this year. His feeling is that if Thompson returns at some point it will feel like that much more of an added bonus to the group.
— Nick Friedell (@NickFriedell) October 23, 2019
The Warriors have stated that they will assess Thompson's progress after the All-Star break and then make a judgment call based on how he is feeling. However, Kerr's comments about ACL injuries usually requiring a full 12 months of recovery instilled some doubt among NBA fans.
Thompson is one of the best two-way players in basketball. Aside from being one of the best shooters in league history and a good screener, he has garnered a reputation as a stingy defender.
Golden State executed a sign-and-trade to bring former Brooklyn Nets guard D'Angelo Russell to the Bay Area, but Russell is not the same kind of defender or rebounder as Thompson.
Green and Stephen Curry are likely to see higher usage rates. The last time that Curry was the focal point of the offense — during the 2015-16 campaign — he had one of the most remarkable seasons in NBA history.
Meanwhile, Green is coming off arguably the best postseason of his career. He will need to be more of a playmaker on the offensive end while playing at his usual high level on the defensive end.
Just in case Green and the Warriors need any extra motivation in the wake of an offseason filled with questions about their future, winning without Thompson would serve to prove that Golden State is still one of the premier organizations in the Western Conference.
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