Another member of the Washington Wizards was sidelined with an injury Tuesday — and the season is still weeks away from starting.
Guard Troy Brown Jr. will miss about four weeks with a calf strain he suffered at workouts Monday, the team announced.
Brown’s injury, while not severe, likely will cause him to miss the preseason, in which the 2018 first-round draft pick figured to see substantial minutes to get ready for his sophomore NBA season.
It also comes just one week after point guard Isaiah Thomas ruptured the radial collateral ligament of his left thumb, an injury the Wizards also said occurred during “routine workouts.” Thomas is expected to miss 6 to 8 weeks as he recovers from surgery.
“This was an unfortunate setback for Isaiah, but with his resolve and the top care he will receive from our medical team, we expect him to make a full recovery,” Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard said in a statement issued last week. “In the meantime, he will continue to mentor our young guards and have a positive impact on the team as we start training camp.”
Thomas, 30, was signed in free agency to act as a fill-in at guard while John Wall continues to recover from his ruptured Achilles tendon. Brown, too, had point guard experience on his resume and might have helped in that area on a temporary basis.
Without either of them available, Ish Smith figures to be Washington’s starting point guard on opening night on Oct. 23 in Dallas against the Mavericks, though Bradley Beal could help with ball-handling duties too.
It doesn’t stop there. The Wizards’ first-round pick this year, forward Rui Hachimura, played for Japan in the FIBA World Cup, and dropped out of the final two games earlier this month due to “knee discomfort and general fatigue.” But that isn’t expected to linger or become anything more serious.
Yet another offseason addition for the Wizards was swingman C.J. Miles, acquired via the trade in July that sent Dwight Howard out of town. Miles underwent surgery to repair a stress fracture in his left foot a few weeks after the trade. He originally injured that foot during the 2018-19 season playing for the Memphis Grizzlies.
At the time, the Wizards said an update on Miles’ recovery would be given in six weeks’ time, but that has yet to come. Sheppard is scheduled to meet with the media Thursday.
Added together, this means the Wizards could be down as many as three rotational players for their season opener. And that’s not even counting Wall.
The star guard on the supermax deal is still months away from playing in an NBA game, in the rosiest outlook, and he could miss all of 2019-20. But his rehab from Achilles surgery is coming along; at a Mystics playoff game last week, Wall told NBC Sports Washington that he began taking jump shots and working on ball-handling.
Wizards owner Ted Leonsis said over the summer that Wall would “probably” miss the full season, and no one on the team wants to risk rushing him back. Still, the injury problems could just be getting started in Washington.
• Adam Zielonka can be reached at azielonka@washingtontimes.com.
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