It looks like Christmas isn’t coming as early as Warriors fans had hoped it was. Shams Charania and Anthony Slater of The Athletic reported today that Klay Thompson will not be returning for next week’s games on December 20th or 23rd. Charania also confirmed in his report on Twitter that Thompson wouldn’t be returning on Christmas, setting December 28th as his earliest possible return date.

This is an important update, as it means a few different things for the Warriors. With this delay, it’s entirely possible that the team could opt to continue Thompson’s conditioning ramp-up into the new year, meaning he’d return in 2022.

It could also mean the star swingman’s long-anticipated return to play will come during a stretch of games where the Warriors play the Nuggets (twice), the Jazz, and the Heat, all considered to be strong playoff teams if not contenders in their respective conferences. It’d be an interesting time for the staff to bring Klay back into official NBA action, especially considering the competition.

It also means the Phoenix Suns will not have a look at their biggest threat to Western dominance at full strength at the Christmas day game. The two teams face off against each other in late March next after they split the season series so far 1-1 earlier this month. The Suns won’t be able to make their necessary adjustments against the Warriors until it’s almost playoff time, where one game to do it before a potential series probably isn’t enough.

Another angle to this is insight into how the Warriors are considering the team’s depth. They don’t need Thompson back immediately with the way they’ve been playing, and continuing to see role players step up is encouraging as the rotation will shorten come playoff-time. Even when Thompson comes back, we probably won’t see as many Damion Lee minutes as we have, with the team instead opting to play someone like Kuminga who can give them defense and rim pressure as opposed to just shooting.

The training staff’s approach is something else to note as well. Because of the position the team currently is in, Klay can take some time to come back fully healthy. It’s obvious from the footage that his shot hasn’t skipped a beat, and if they take more time with his conditioning, he may come back even closer to full strength than some pundits thought he would.

This also gives a few more games to let younger guys get some playing time. Before Christmas, the Dubs have the Raptors, Kings, and presumably Ja Morant-less Grizzlies after they face the Celtics tomorrow. These are teams that can afford younger guys minutes, and without an extra starter in the rotation, it’ll give them a few more games of experience, which could make all the difference.

Overall, while it certainly would be more fun to see Thompson back drilling threes and locking up star guards sooner than later, there is more upside to him taking his time to get back. The team doesn’t need him to stay afloat right now, the biggest competitor in the West won’t be able to make tangible adjustments until the season’s almost over, and he could come back stronger than anticipated with the extra conditioning.

(Photo credit: Jim Poorten / Getty Images)