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Steve Kerr: Draymond Green made his presence felt ‘immediately’ in return to practice at Warriors training camp

Tommy Call III
·3 min read

After an extended layoff from the court, the Golden State Warriors returned to action at Chase Center for a preseason tilt against the Denver Nuggets on Saturday. However, the Warriors were without two of their potential starters.

After reportedly testing positive for COVID-19, Draymond Green and James Wiseman missed the start of training camp and Golden State’s 107-105 win against the Nuggets.

On Monday, Green and Wiseman were able to make their return to the practice floor with the rest of their teammates. In a post-practice Zoom call with media members, Steve Kerr said Green made his presence felt “immediately” at practice.

It was so great to have those guys back out on the floor. Draymond [Green], he’s our leader. To go through camp the first week without our leader was difficult. He made his presence felt immediately — with advice in the film session, advice on the floor, and a whole lot of trash talk. The energy level skyrocketed. It was great to have Draymond back.

Adding an experienced leader like Green back to practice is especially valuable for a new-look roster that features several offseason additions. With only a limited amount of practices left in the Warriors’ preseason, Green will need to help build chemistry in the rotation before the regular-season opener on Dec. 22 against the Brooklyn Nets.

For Green’s new running mate in the frontcourt, Kerr called Wiseman’s practice debut “exciting.”

With James, it’s just so exciting to see the potential that’s there. And for him to feel a real practice with his teammates for the first time was exciting. He was playing with huge energy — flying around everywhere. A couple of guys came off the floor at one point and just shook their heads and said, ‘man, this guy is massive.’ So it’s really exciting. The potential is there for James to really make an impact. He had a really good first day of practice, but so much to learn and a long way to go, but we’re all excited for him and for us.

Listen to Kerr’s full post-practice interview via Warriors SoundCloud.

With Green and Wiseman back on the floor, the duo connected for a highlight reel moment during day six of training camp practice. The three-time All-Star found Golden State’s 19-year-old rookie for a lob dunk.

Via @warriors on Twitter:

However, fans will have to wait to see the Green and Wiseman pairing in a game. The duo is slated to miss Golden State’s trip to the California state capital for a preseason contest against the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday.

With Green and Wiseman unavailable, Steve Kerr opted for Kevon Looney and Eric Paschall in the starting lineup against the Nuggets. The Warriors will tipoff against the Kings on Tuesday at 7 P.M. PST at the Golden 1 Center.

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