James Wiseman will take the next step in his rehab Tuesday, Warriors president of basketball operations Bob Myers told 95.7 The Game's "The Morning Roast" during his bi-weekly interview.
"I think he's going to scrimmage 5-on-5 today. So that will be good," Myers said.
Wiseman hasn't played in 10 months. The 7-foot-1 center was expected to be back much earlier but had to undergo a second clean-up surgery in December.
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SIGN UP HERE Wiseman played 3-on-3 last week. That was his first contact work in 10 months. It's a good sign that his body was able to handle the contact work and progress to the next step.
With Wiseman and Draymond Green both out, the Warriors have struggled to rebound the ball and defend the paint. Golden State's defensive issues and lack of frontcourt depth has fans calling for Myers to bring in a big man off the buyout market.
Myers said Tuesday that the Warriors will look at the buyout market, but don't view it as an obvious way to improve the team.
"We're going to look at it," Myers said. "I don't know how you rate the buyout market. The buyout market is interesting. We've done it before and we may do it again. It's probably perceived to be a greater benefit than it is. Doesn't mean we won't. Even in the years we have, or you look at the history of the league, it's somewhat rare that a player comes in and moves the needle, either way. It doesn't mean it hasn't worked for us in the past. I love the fans' energy, I love the enthusiasm. We talk about it more than they can imagine. It's our job to do it.
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"But it's not as easy as some people think as far as, 'this guy is going to solve all our issues.' You're talking about our paint defense but you can talk about our perimeter defense as well."
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To Myers, the return of Green and Wiseman should be all the Warriors need to help their frontcourt depth and rebounding issues.
"If we thought Draymond was not going to be back, or Wiseman, and we thought some player would really help us, we would do that," Myers said. "But at this stage, as far as clamoring for a big guy, there isn't an obvious, 'go get that guy,' and he fits with what we do,
"Because it's not just taking any big guy and saying he's going to rebound and block shots. Our offense is intricate and complicated. Our coaches like going small, we've gone small in the past and done well. When Draymond is back, or Wiseman, now you've got, between those two, Bjelica and Looney, that's four centers, and we've even been playing Kuminga there. So that's five centers. We think and hope that that should suffice going into the rest of the season."
Meniscus rehab is unpredictable. But the fact that Wiseman made it through his first full-contact work and advanced to 5-on-5 work is a good sign that he has finally turned the corner and a return could be on the horizon.