SAN FRANCISCO — Under the weather all week, Andrew Wiggins didn’t get the full island experience.
But a few days of rest and relaxation in Hawaii apparently left the Warriors forward rejuvenated enough to return to practice Monday when the team took the court on the mainland for the first time since its preseason excursion in paradise.
Wiggins, 29, missed the preseason opener against Clippers and will sit out again when the team heads to Sacramento on Wednesday. But coach Steve Kerr doesn’t expect Wiggins’ illness to impact his readiness for the start of regular season, which looms a little over two weeks away.
“That’s the hope,” Kerr said.
The exact nature of Wiggins’ condition remains a mystery, but it was severe enough to prevent him from practicing the entire week the Warriors spent in Hawaii. He got shots up on a separate basket while wearing a mask. On Monday, Wiggins ditched the protective face covering and took part in every portion of practice except live action.
Second-year center Trayce Jackson-Davis smiled while making light of the tight lid kept on Wiggins’ health.
“Before he got, uh, whatever happened to him, I’m not gonna say, but before he got what he got, we had a few practices with him and he looked really, really good,” Jackson-Davis said. “So he’s just going to continue to build up and when he’s good to go, I know he’ll be ready.”
Kerr was similarly optimistic about the 6-foot-7 wing, who is being counted on to step up as a second option offensively in the wake of Klay Thompson’s departure. Wiggins averaged a career-low 13.9 points per game on 45.3% shooting, his lowest success rate since joining Golden State in 2020.
“Obviously he wanted to get off to a good start in camp and that was taken away. But he’s in really good shape,” Kerr said. “He arrived in good shape. I don’t think he’ll fall back too far from this. It’ll take some time for him to catch up, but he’ll be all right.”
Wiggins did not speak with reporters in Hawaii and declined their requests Monday.
The Warriors have five preseason games remaining before they open the regular season against the Trail Blazers on October 23.
“We’ve got to get him some live action in multiple practices before we let him on the court for a real game,” Kerr said. “We’ll just take it day by day, but definitely out for Wednesday.”
Island time
The trip to Hawaii was the Warriors’ first since 2007, when they would regularly visit before ever other season.
Players and coaches raved about the experience, many of whom shared it with family members who accompanied them. Sometimes it can take time to acclimate back into daily life after a week in the slow-paced island lifestyle, but not the Warriors.
When Kerr stepped into the media room a little after 2 p.m. (while razzing Dodgers’ fans for their inability to catch home run balls), he noted that it was “as late as we’ve ever practiced here in the afternoon” and gushed about the effort level only a day after they flew six hours across the Pacific Ocean.
“Guys went for a good couple of hours,” he said. “I really like this group. Just the energy and the focus. I mean, we’re going hard. … We had a long film session. I was just really impressed with our focus and the quality of practice the whole way through.”
Jackson-Davis said it was a “high-intensity, high-energy” practice.
Rotation implications
Jackson-Davis received the nod in the starting lineup Saturday against the Clippers alongside Draymond Green and Jonathan Kuminga, a combination Kerr likes in concept but acknowledged needed some fine-tuning after its debut showing, falling into an early 17-12 deficit against the Clippers’ starters.
“Defensively, I think once we get our thing situated and sorted out, I think it’ll be really hard for opposing teams,” Jackson-Davis said, “especially with Draymond and JK and the athleticism we have on the floor. … Obviously I’ve played with both of them, but not at the same time, usually.”
Kerr also lauded the defensive upside of the group with its athleticism and ability to protect the rim.
“But,” he said, “it also has to flow on the offensive side. We’ve got to get spacing. We’ve got to make sure we can execute against what defenses will do against that group.”
Of course, Wiggins is expected to assume one of the five spots in the starting lineup when he is cleared to play, potentially shifting Kuminga, Jackson-Davis or shooting guard De’Anthony Melton into a sixth-man role. The bigger implications when it comes to playing time might be for Moses Moody, who was the 10th man to enter their preseason opener and could fall out of the rotation altogether if he is bumped down another slot.
After entering the game at the end of the first quarter, Moody went on to score 12 points, second-only to Lindy Waters III, and led the team with a plus-14 rating. Yet, once again the fourth-year guard is looking like the odd man out.
“It’s a numbers game,” Kerr said. “The only thing any of these guys can do is go out and have a great camp and make it really hard on us as decision makers. And Moses is having a great camp. All he can do is keep doing what he’s doing.”
Trip highlights
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Kuminga, who turned 22 on Sunday, said the trip to Hawaii “felt like birthday celebration.”
“Just being out there with the team, having fun and learning about each other,” Kuminga said. “It was fun. It was great.”
Jackson-Davis and fellow second-year player Brandin Podziemski brought their dads with them and enjoyed meals out every night. So, lots of poke, mahi-mahi and Spam musubi? Nope. Carnitas and carne asada tacos from a food truck that stopped by after practice one day.
It was a little different experience for Wiggins, who was accompanied by his wife, Mychal.
“I felt terrible for him,” Kerr said. “To be in Hawaii for five days with your wife and you don’t get to go out and have fun and you’re sick, that’s not ideal. So I felt bad for Wiggs for multiple reasons.”
