Four months after undergoing surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right hip suffered during the preseason, Wilson Chandler is ahead of schedule in his recovery.
The original timetable which was set at six months put Chandler on a timetable to resume full basketball activities this May, yet the 28-year-old says if the Nuggets were in playoff position, he could possibly suit up for the first time this season.
“Probably if the season was longer (they would let me play),” Chandler said to the Denver Posts’ Chris Dempsey. “But if we don’t make the playoffs there’s no sense in rushing it.”
There will be no playoffs in Denver this season. ESPN.com’s BPI gives the Nuggets less than a 1 percent chance to make the postseason and the Denver front office and coaching staff have acknowledged they are now seeing what they have with the current roster and building towards next season, while also searching for wins.
Chandler underwent the same surgery in 2012 to repair a torn labrum in his left hip and ended up playing in just eight games that season.
“It’s been a super-long road,” Chandler told the Denver Post. “I’ve always had injuries but a whole season like this, it’s the first time. Everything has been great, though. This time around has been different than other injuries I’ve had. No setbacks, everything is feeling great.”
Chandler’s been participating in some portions of practice and has even started shooting pregame. He’s on track to have a productive summer and be ready for training camp next fall.
Wilson Chandler's been shooting after practice for a while. Now he's getting up jumpers before games too. pic.twitter.com/7kLcQf9pnA
— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) March 5, 2016
It would be a disservice to Chandler to write about his injury without discussing the impact he would have made both on the court and in the Nuggets locker room this season. He has been around the team and in the locker room pre-and-post-game, but there’d be even more of an impact if he were able to play, from that perspective. With him in the lineup for 60-plus games this year, Denver may have been in contention for the low hanging fruit that is this year’s eighth seed.
It’s not inconceivable that Chandler would have given the Nuggets 4-5 additional wins this season. He would have been Denver’s customary sixth man, even stepping into the starting lineup with Danilo Gallinari only logging 53 games this season, and likely out for the rest of the year.
Chandler would have been able to spell Gary Harris on defense and come to the aid of the undersized two-guard who’s struggled at times guarding lankier wings. He would also be lurking as a safety valve for Emmanuel Mudiay when the 19 year-old found himself trapped after a hedging big forced him to pick up his dribble and set the rookie into panic mode on the perimeter.
Imagine Chandler adding to the Nuggets newfound defensive philosophy of consistently switching positions one through four. Mudiay, Harris, Gallinari and Chandler switching like jackknives on the perimeter with Nikola Jokic or Jusuf Nurkic patrolling the paint has the constructs of a versatile and modern defense.
The six-foot-eight swingman was also supposed to provide the Nuggets depth at the small forward position – one that’s been a revolving door sans Gallinari. From Kostas Papanikolaou, who was brought on at beginning of the year in a corresponding move to Chandler’s injury, to JaKarr Sampson and the newest Nuggets signee Axel Toupane, Denver’s been searching for another versatile wing all year. Chandler would have stabilized and brought a calming influence to this roster in times of flux.
Per Tim Connelly, Michael Malone and the rest of the Nuggets’ security council, Chandler’s built a reputation as one of Denver’s hardest working players throughout the offseason. He’ll be at it again this summer, prepping for a potentially career year in 2017.
