Warriors’ Steve Kerr Gives Injury Update On Klay Thompson…’It’s unlikely All-Star plays this year after ACL’

The Golden State Warriors knew that they will have to open the new season without Kevin Durant because he signed with the Brooklyn Nets. But, it looks like Klay Thompson won’t join his team this season. Many said that he’d return in February, but head coach Steve Kerr shut down this possibility on Tuesday. He spoke to NBC Sports Bay Area, and said it’s unlikely Thompson will return this season.

“It’s unlikely that he’s going to play this year. So we have to understand that,” the Warriors coach said. “You have to look at it realistically. I had an ACL [tear] in college, and I missed a whole season. Generally, an ACL for a basketball player is a full-year recovery, and if it’s a full year for Klay, that puts them out for the season. We’ve kind of left the door open in case the rehab goes perfectly and the doctors say he can go. But the reality is, on April 1, that’s the nine-month mark. … April versus nine months post-op for an ACL.”

“We have to prepare our young guys to fill that role behind him, and when he gets back, whenever that is, hopefully these young guys now are developed and in the rotation and ready to really be contributors on a playoff team and we can get better.”

Klay will have to find himself a hobby in order to survive the gap this season.

“He’s bored,” Kerr said. “I mean, Klay loves basketball, he loves to play, so he’s at the point in his rehab, three-plus months in, where his knee feels pretty good. He’s not in pain. He can get out there and shoot around, but he’s got to let it heal, and he can’t run, he can’t cut. So we’ll see him in the weight room, in the training room, getting his work in.

“But I feel bad for him. You never feel part of it unless you’re actually playing and with the guys, and he misses that.”

Let’s see what happens with the Warriors this season. They believe in their power, but things may not be that bright.