Chris Paul will miss 4-6 weeks as he will require surgery to repair a fracture in his left hand. It will be the sixth surgery on his left hand, and his 12th hand surgery overall. The recovery timeline means that the Warriors will be without the 19-season veteran until after the All-Star break. Paul is averaging 8.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 7.2 assists a game. The Warriors acquired Paul from the Wizards after Washington briefly acquired him from Phoenix.
With Paul sidelined, rookie Brandin Podziemski is expected to play a bigger role in the Warriors' rotation. The Warriors took Podziemski 19th overall in the 2023 draft after the guard played two seasons of college ball, one at Illinois and one at Santa Clara. Podziemski is averaging 9.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.2 assists a game. Now he will get a bigger chance to prove himself part of the Warriors' young revolution.
Draymond Green Returns As Chris Paul Ruled Out
However, Paul's sidelining comes as the Warriors begin ramping Draymond Green up to being court-ready. Green has been reinstated from his indefinite suspension, having missed 12 games after striking Jusuf Nurkić in the head. Per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Warriors expect Green to need about a week to get back up to playing strength. With that timeline in mind, Green might return to the court for Golden State's game in Memphis on January 15. The Warriors have four more games between then and now, meaning they will have to hold on a little longer without Green. After Green's build-up week, the Warriors are next at home on January 19.
The news comes a day after Wojnarowski reported that Green was returning to the Warriors' facility. The Warriors have gone 7-5 without Green and currently sit in 11th place in the Western Conference. However, Green will likely return on thin ice with the league. With two suspensions under his belt this season, the league will likely come down even harder if anything else happens this season. The Warriors host Toronto on Sunday.
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