WASHINGTON — Injured Lonnie Walker IV missed his 14th straight game for the Nets on Friday night, but their hamstrung sixth man is finally inching toward a return to the court, possibly as soon as Tuesday in New Orleans.
“It’s good to see him on the trip,” coach Jacque Vaughn said before the Nets’ 110-104 loss to the Wizards. “He did have a little bit of a workout after shootaround [Friday], which is good. So we’ll continue to see kind of how he responds.
“Like I said, the last time I talked about that, he wouldn’t be playing this week. So that’s the OKC game for us, right? And so then he’ll stay on the trip and see if he just continues to progress. We’ll keep putting him on the court. But probably after OKC game going into the New Year, I’ll have some more information. But he is on the trip which is a good sign.
The Nets play New Year’s Eve at the Thunder before traveling to face the Pelicans.
It’s no guarantee Walker will be ready by then, but he’s finally getting closer.
“I’m getting there. Still no timetable, but [Friday] was a very, very huge step forward as far as understanding how my physical aspect as far as movement and jumping and running, how I feel. I felt terrific is probably the best I felt and quite a long time,” Walker said.
“I’m struggling. I mean, as far as like dying to play back on the court. I’ve kind of just been sitting on the floor watching everyone shoot, touching the floor, getting really excited as the timetable gets a little closer and closer. But mentally I’m good physically I’m feeling really good. I had a really good workout session after practice, so I’m just in a really good place.”
Walker hasn’t played since straining his hamstring Nov. 30 against Charlotte.
He was progressing in his recovery when he came down with a viral illness that set his rehab work back. Now, Walker is on the court, sprinting, jumping and dunking.
“It pissed me off a lot, honestly. I was home, I was very upset, just because I want to play,” Walker said. “I want to play with my guys. I want to play my family, my teammates and win and get better. So on the bright side of things, just give me more time to kind of recover and make sure once I’m back 100 percent I can go as far as hard as I want to go.”
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