SAN FRANCISCO — The Warriors are close to having their defensive ace back into the rotation.
Draymond Green, who has been out since Jan. 18 with a strained left calf, was a full participant at practice on Saturday afternoon and has been upgraded to questionable for Monday’s game against the Orlando Magic, according to coach Steve Kerr.
“He practiced today and scrimmaged yesterday,” Kerr said on Saturday. “He’s looking good. We’ll call him questionable for Monday, but he’s trending in the right direction.”
Kerr said the team will make an official decision on whether Green will play against Orlando on Monday after the team’s walkthrough.
Green suffered the injury three minutes into the Warriors’ 122-114 win over the Washington Wizards on Jan. 18. The four-time All-Star missed Golden State’s last seven games – a stretch in which the Warriors went 3-4.
This isn’t the first time Green has dealt with issues with his left calf, missing two games in early December with left calf tightness.
With the Warriors in the midst of a critical point in their season with the Feb. 6 trade deadline looming, Green’s teammates are eager for the defensive specialist to return to the floor.
“He’s moving well and his energy is great,” center Kevon Looney said. “He’s talking, he’s vocal, he’s being his normal self. He seemed to have confidence in his movement.
“He brings a lot for us on both ends of the court. Defensively, he’s going to be himself. He’s going to clean up and cover up a lot of things that we have mistakes on. He’s an elite level defender to this day. And then offensively, he helps us with our pace, he helps with our organization. … We’re looking forward to having him back.”
The Warriors are hoping Green could provide a consistent defensive spark that the team has struggled to find over the team’s home stand.
“He’s the definition of energy,” forward Gui Santos said. “He’s a guy that doesn’t need to score 20 points to impact the game. That’s the definition of energy, especially how he connects the game.”
Trade deadline not impacting locker room
With the trade deadline just a few days away, numerous reports have the Warriors connected to some of the top players who are perceived to be on the trading block, including disgruntled Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler and Chicago Bulls guard Zach Lavine.
Should Golden State make a move, some of the Warriors’ veteran leaders would certainly be involved in any potential big-time trade. But even with the trade deadline getting closer, the Warriors have been level-headed.
“It’s not easy always seeing your name in trade ideas and different things like that, but it’s part of your profession,” Looney said. “Our job is to try to block out that noise as much as possible and go out there and perform at our highest level.”
Kerr said the trade deadline anxiety has not impacted the team’s performance.
“I’m sure they talk about it amongst themselves and with their families, and I don’t see it manifesting itself on the court at all,” he said. “It’s just just not an easy situation to be in, especially when you have kids and family. The potential to just have to pack up and go, that’s difficult.”