HOUSTON — Golden State Warriors center Andrew Bogut will join the team next week and is expected to make his season debut when the Warriors return to Oracle Arena for a three-game homestand beginning Thursday against the Indiana Pacers.
“He probably will not be here on this road trip,” coach Steve Kerr said after Friday’s practice. “I think he gets to the Bay on Saturday. So I didn’t think it made sense for him to fly across the country after flying across the world, so he’ll probably just meet us in the Bay when we get back, more than likely.”
Bogut, 34, signed with the Warriors last week after finishing his season in the National Basketball League in Australia. Kerr said Bogut got all his visa issues worked out and will be ready to start practicing as soon as the Warriors return from their current four-game road trip. This will mark the beginning of Bogut’s second stint with the organization. He spent four seasons with the Warriors and won an NBA title in 2015.
In the short term, Kerr is hopeful that star forward Kevin Durant will return Saturday against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Durant, who missed Wednesday’s win over the Houston Rockets after spraining his right ankle in Sunday’s loss to the Phoenix Suns, went through all of Friday’s practice and will be re-evaluated by Dr. Rick Celebrini, the Warriors’ director of sports medicine and performance.
“We’ll see,” Kerr said of Durant’s status. “He practiced today and he’s feeling better, but I would list him as questionable still. We’ll see. He’s going to do some more work with Rick, and Rick will make the determination [Saturday] probably at shootaround.”