Warriors get ‘pretty good news’ on James Wiseman, Jonathan Kuminga — but how quickly will either return?

SAN FRANCISCO — The Warriors’ pair of sidelined lottery picks are making “good progress” in their rehabilitations, but the team doesn’t appear to be in any hurry to rush them back.

James Wiseman was cleared to increase his level of activity during individual on-court workouts, the Warriors announced Friday, before Jonathan Kuminga sat out his second consecutive preseason game.

“They’re doing well. We continue to ramp them up as the training staff sees fit,” coach Steve Kerr said before the Warriors’ preseason finale Friday night.

Wiseman will be re-evaluated again Nov. 1, according to the team, and Kuminga in one week. Both talented young players are dealing with knee injuries, though the Warriors are optimistic Kuminga’s isn’t nearly as serious as Wiseman, who tore his meniscus with 19 games left in his rookie season.

Kuminga, 19, strained the patellar tendon in his right knee late in Golden State’s third preseason game and has been limited to riding a recumbent bicycle during practice. The Warriors made him the No. 7 overall pick in the past NBA draft a year after they selected Wiseman No. 2 overall.

“He’s really disappointed,” Kerr said of the rookie. “We’ve tried to tell him it’s just a couple of weeks and that he’s got a long career ahead of him. He’s a very quiet guy by nature. He’s a tough nut to crack. He’s just kind of nodding his head when I ask him if he’s OK. But I know he wants to be out there badly.”

Despite what Kerr described as “pretty good news” regarding both players, the Warriors could opt to slow-walk their return to the court in order to help them acclimate to the league.

That’s a different strategy than Golden State took last season with Wiseman, who started 27 of the 39 games he was healthy enough to play in.

“Last year with Klay’s injury and with the team that we had, we felt like the smart thing to do was to give James every bit of playing time as possible and kind of threw him into the deep end,” Kerr said. “I think this year, there’s going to be a more natural progression to his work, not only coming off the injury but given where we are as a team having added some veterans. It’ll be a comprehensive development for both James and Jonathan, and we feel really good about the plan.”

Payton II sits

Gary Payton II made a thunderous impact with 12 points — on three cutting dunks — Tuesday night in his first game back from offseason hernia surgery. However, he was under a minutes-limit for health reasons, then sat out practice the following day.

Payton was inactive again for Friday’s preseason finale, despite his status in the thick of the battle for the final spot on the Warriors’ regular-season roster.

It’s still an open questions as to whether the Warriors fill the spot at all, with luxury tax implications that could triple the financial strain of adding a 15th player. Kerr was complimentary of Payton, Avery Bradley and other candidates for the final spot but said before Friday’s game that the Warriors still hadn’t decided if any player had earned the spot.

“We have to determine that in the coming days. We’ve got a lot of great candidates. I think everybody here has done a fantastic job, but that’s the final step and that’ll come in the next couple of days,” Kerr said. “We take everything into consideration. Then obviously it comes down to organizationally what we decide to do. There’s lot of ramifications, so we have to factor all that in.”

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Author: Evan Webeck

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