The Golden State Warriors have held out hope that Klay Thompson could make a late-season return in 2020 after suffering a torn ACL in Game 6 of the NBA Finals four months ago, but that optimism has now faded away.
Speaking with NBC Sports Bay Area during an exclusive interview that will air in its entirety on Thursday at 1:00 p.m. ET as part of the “NBA Season Tip-Off” promotion for the MyTeams app, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr admitted that Thompson is unlikely to return at all this season.
“It’s unlikely that he’s going to play this year,” Kerr said. “So we have to understand that.”
Thompson underwent surgery on July 2 and expressed a desire to return after the All-Star break, but Kerr recognizes that perhaps everyone was looking at this through rose-colored glasses.
“You have to look at it realistically,” Kerr said said. “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.”
Thompson has remained around the team and intends to keep it that way throughout the season, but Kerr admits his superstar has become bored and will have to manage that moving forward.
With Thompson out, Kevin Durant now calling Brooklyn home and Andre Iguodala’s departure, it’s clearly a year of transition for these Warriors.
