star told ESPN that a patient approach is needed as he rehabs a that has sidelined him the past two games.
“It’s trending in the right direction,” Curry said. “It’s different than last year, but something that will heal.”
It is unclear when he will return to the lineup. Early last season, Curry dealt with tendinitis in both of his knees, forcing the Warriors to manage his minutes and rest him for a game. This time around, he is dealing with what the team is listing as patellofemoral pain syndrome, also known as “runner’s knee,” which typically consists of swelling and pain around the kneecap.
The problem flared up two weeks ago during an individual workout. He missed one game in Minnesota, tried to play through it the next two and then exited a home loss to the in the third quarter. He limped to the locker room and has since been off to the side doing individual rehab work.
The team continues to call him day-to-day, but he doesn’t sound like someone preparing to return for Saturday night’s ABC showcase game against the .
“It’s a matter of learning as I go what works rehab-wise,” Curry said. “Because it’s still painful. You have to try to get rid of all the inflammation and pain. It’s something we still have to monitor and injury-manage, but it’s something where, if I come back too early, it could flare up.”
Curry detailed this to ESPN in a celebratory locker room Thursday night in Phoenix. Without Curry, the short-handed Warriors ripped off a 25-7 run to close out a wild over the , bumping their record to 28-24.
“Felt like we won a championship,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said of the celebration.
The outpouring of emotion was in part a response to the team’s recent stretch of adversity, beginning with ‘s Jan. 19 that derailed their momentum and appeared to end realistic title hopes.
In the aftermath, the Warriors’ front office made an of star that bled into the public, revealing their willingness to involve franchise legend in , adding to the ground-level tension.
“I wasn’t on the phone with [general manager Mike Dunleavy] and them making calls,” Curry said. “I knew there was an offer that was made, as you’d expect. At the end of the day, nobody got him. So that’s the situation right now.
“For us, our challenge is to try to stay at a level we can be a threat in a playoff series and finish the regular season off strong.”
Dunleavy and the Warriors’ front office pivoted off the Antetokounmpo chase when it was clear Milwaukee . They instead and to Atlanta for , the often-sidelined veteran center who has been limited to 17 games this season.
“I’m learning some Latvian,” Curry said when asked about Porzingis. “I’m just hoping that he’s healthy, first and foremost, so that he can do what he can do on the floor. Him and won a championship together. Different context, but there’s a familiarity and skill set and size and presence that we’ve been looking for a while.”
Steve Kerr after exiting a loud road locker room celebration: “Felt like we won the championship.”
The Warriors have a cupboard full of future first-round picks that were on the table for Antetokounmpo, but they were unwilling to redirect that type of draft ammunition in trade talks for . () or (), two mid-prime centers who were traded for multiple first-round picks this week.
Curry didn’t voice any displeasure about a lack of front office aggression.
“Deadline is always tricky because you are trying to make the right appropriate move and then everything is obviously in the context of Jimmy’s injury and what’s possible,” Curry said. “I’m excited with what KP can bring. You saw the fight tonight. We’ll learn each other as we go.”
Is Curry content with the state of the situation?
“No,” Curry shot back. “I’d rather have Jimmy Butler playing basketball. But it’s our hurdle to overcome as a team. Three weeks ago, we were heading in a certain direction. The record scratched and stopped, and now you’re trying to figure out how to get it going again.”
