MEMPHIS, TENN. (AP) - Golden State forward David Lee has flown to Minneapolis and will meet the Warriors there for a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday.
Golden State officials said Friday night that Lee will work out in Minneapolis and be a game-time decision against the Timberwolves.
“We’ll look forward to seeing him and that happy face and the personality he brings to this team,” Warriors coach Keith Smart said before a game against the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Warriors said Lee worked out in Oakland, Calif. on Friday before heading to Minnesota.
Lee initially had surgery Nov. 12, two days after he cut the inside of his left elbow on the mouth of New York’s Wilson Chandler. A fragment of Chandler’s tooth stayed in Lee’s arm. After Lee’s elbow swelled and bled, he was given antibiotics in an emergency room and needed more surgery.
He is averaging 14.3 points and a team-leading 11.3 rebounds for Golden State, which acquired him in July from the Knicks.
Smart said Lee’s return in Minnesota instead of waiting until the Warriors get home Tuesday against San Antonio shows the dedication Lee has brought to the team. The Warriors coach is unsure what type of limitations Lee will be under when he returns, but wouldn’t be surprised if he provided quality minutes immediately.
“The good players figure out a way to do something in the little bit of time until they know their bodies are catching up with what their minds want to do,” Smart said. “But once you start running and pushing on the body, it’s going to be a little different.”
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