Thunder ‘hopeful’ Andre Roberson will be able to return in Orlando
Many may have forgotten by this point that Andre Roberson is still on the Oklahoma City Thunder, but his lengthy absence could soon be ending.
Speaking with the media this weekend, Thunder GM Sam Presti spoke on the 28-year-old’s progress as the team nears the restart of play later this summer.
“The time has really helped Dre,” said Presti, per Brandon Rahbar of Daily Thunder. “We haven’t got to see him in real basketball yet. We’re in a better place than we were on March 11 [when play was suspended] for sure. But we won’t know until we get into team practice but we’re hopeful.”
Roberson, the stalwart defender who made the All-Defensive Second Team in 2017, has not played in nearly two-and-a-half years. He ruptured his patellar tendon during a game in Jan. 2018 and suffered a number of setbacks in his recovery since then that have kept him indefinitely sidelined.
While Roberson is now the longest-tenured member of the Thunder (along with Steven Adams), the contribution that he would be able to provide to the team in Orlando will likely be a wild card, if he is even ready to play by then.
