Golden State Warriors update: James Wiseman might miss season-opener

Fans of the Golden State Warriors have been wondering for months how long James Wiseman will be sidelined with the torn meniscus that ended his miserable rookie season. In the closest thing we’ve had to an update in quite some time — it sounds as if Wiseman will be a last-second decision on opening night.

The Golden State Warriors probably should not be expecting James Wiseman to play on opening night despite his reassuring recovery thus far.

Wiseman had surgery on his right knee all the way back in April. According to the Warriors’ Twitter account, the young center has made good progress and is on pace for his return this season.

But… when exactly will that be?

Well, the Dubs went on to explain that Wiseman will be able to jump with full capabilities sixth months after his surgery. After this, his return to full-action practice will be determined. With his sixth month anniversary coming on October 15, and the Warriors’ opening challenge against the Los Angeles Lakers on October 18 — it is going to be a narrow call.

I’d probably err on the side of caution with Wiseman missing the first game of the season. Considering there is no reason to rush him back and risk further injury (the Warriors learned their lesson the hard way with this) we can assume Wiseman is not going to go from taking his first leaps in sixth months to playing NBA basketball in a span of just three days.

Regardless, it is encouraging to hear Wiseman has hit all of the benchmarks in his recovery thus far. His health is an obvious concern moving forward and perhaps one of the only things that can stop him from putting his elite physical build to use at the professional level.

Wiseman has plenty of obstacles in front of him as he looks to develop into a player worthy of being the No. 2 overall draft pick. Hopefully, the Dubs will give him enough time to make a full recovery before letting him loose on his sophomore stint.