When will Donte return?

[FNG]

Donte had a terrific season last year and was sorely missed in the playoffs after his injury. My initial thought when he went down last May was "we'll see him in 2027-8". But after hearing reports about how well he is doing in his recovery, I'm feeling much more optimistic. I think he will thrive next to Ball with his constant moving without the ball and quick release, so my excitement level is high. So let's go on the record...when do you think Donte will play his next game for the Wolves, if ever.

[Q-is-here]

I was on a flight with Donte from Minneapolis to Philadelphia a little over a week ago. It was an early morning flight and he was by himself. My guess is he was doing rehab all week at Mayo Clinic Square and was flying back to be with family (he's originally from just outside of Wilmington, DE). He was walking just fine, but still had a boot on. I wished him good luck in his recovery and otherwise left him alone, but frankly I don't think anyone else even knew who he was.

[FNG]

I was on a flight with Donte from Minneapolis to Philadelphia a little over a week ago. It was an early morning flight and he was by himself. My guess is he was doing rehab all week at Mayo Clinic Square and was flying back to be with family (he's originally from just outside of Wilmington, DE). He was walking just fine, but still had a boot on. I wished him good luck in his recovery and otherwise left him alone, but frankly I don't think anyone else even knew who he was.

First and foremost, Q, the board is proud of you for riding up front with the big shooters!

Really good to hear Donte is walking just fine only three months after surgery. It always bothers me when athletes who know they need surgery wait weeks to get it done...delays their return to action. Donte on the other hand had his surgery the day after his injury. Even better, he was able to get the gold standard in this surgery Dr. Martin O'Malley to do the surgery on a Sunday! That's the same surgeon who repaired Tatum's tendon, so although no surgeries are identical, that bodes well for a quick recovery.

I voted March like the current majority based on the average 10 month recovery for this surgery. Of course there are no guarantees, but getting Donte back and used to playing with Ball for 10-15 games prior to the playoffs would be a real boost for the team late in the season.

[Monster]

I was on a flight with Donte from Minneapolis to Philadelphia a little over a week ago. It was an early morning flight and he was by himself. My guess is he was doing rehab all week at Mayo Clinic Square and was flying back to be with family (he's originally from just outside of Wilmington, DE). He was walking just fine, but still had a boot on. I wished him good luck in his recovery and otherwise left him alone, but frankly I don't think anyone else even knew who he was.

First and foremost, Q, the board is proud of you for riding up front with the big shooters!

Really good to hear Donte is walking just fine only three months after surgery. It always bothers me when athletes who know they need surgery wait weeks to get it done...delays their return to action. Donte on the other hand had his surgery the day after his injury. Even better, he was able to get the gold standard in this surgery Dr. Martin O'Malley to do the surgery on a Sunday! That's the same surgeon who repaired Tatum's tendon, so although no surgeries are identical, that bodes well for a quick recovery.

I voted March like the current majority based on the average 10 month recovery for this surgery. Of course there are no guarantees, but getting Donte back and used to playing with Ball for 10-15 games prior to the playoffs would be a real boost for the team late in the season.

I also get annoyed with why they wait to get surgery but often there is a medical reason for them to wait. Sometimes they have to wait for swelling to go down etc. In some cases there is non-surgical options and they want to wait to see if that will work. Obviously there was no option but to have surgery for Donte and and apparently he was good to go to have the surgery right away.

I'm not orthopedic surgeon so I got no info on an Achilles surgery. It does seem to me like a different joint than say a knee or a shoulder. My cousin's husband's dad is an ortho Surgeon. His son is following in his footsteps nearly a Dr himself and is planning to be an ortho Surgeon for ER type visits. It's so much work to become a Dr but the guy is like a freaking golden retriever and still really excited about being a guy digging around and putting things back together. Lol It's interesting to talk to him about various injuries and his experience in medical school and his residency etc.

[FNG]

I was on a flight with Donte from Minneapolis to Philadelphia a little over a week ago. It was an early morning flight and he was by himself. My guess is he was doing rehab all week at Mayo Clinic Square and was flying back to be with family (he's originally from just outside of Wilmington, DE). He was walking just fine, but still had a boot on. I wished him good luck in his recovery and otherwise left him alone, but frankly I don't think anyone else even knew who he was.

First and foremost, Q, the board is proud of you for riding up front with the big shooters!

Really good to hear Donte is walking just fine only three months after surgery. It always bothers me when athletes who know they need surgery wait weeks to get it done...delays their return to action. Donte on the other hand had his surgery the day after his injury. Even better, he was able to get the gold standard in this surgery Dr. Martin O'Malley to do the surgery on a Sunday! That's the same surgeon who repaired Tatum's tendon, so although no surgeries are identical, that bodes well for a quick recovery.

I voted March like the current majority based on the average 10 month recovery for this surgery. Of course there are no guarantees, but getting Donte back and used to playing with Ball for 10-15 games prior to the playoffs would be a real boost for the team late in the season.

I also get annoyed with why they wait to get surgery but often there is a medical reason for them to wait. Sometimes they have to wait for swelling to go down etc. In some cases there is non-surgical options and they want to wait to see if that will work. Obviously there was no option but to have surgery for Donte and and apparently he was good to go to have the surgery right away.

I'm not orthopedic surgeon so I got no info on an Achilles surgery. It does seem to me like a different joint than say a knee or a shoulder. My cousin's husband's dad is an ortho Surgeon. His son is following in his footsteps nearly a Dr himself and is planning to be an ortho Surgeon for ER type visits. It's so much work to become a Dr but the guy is like a freaking golden retriever and still really excited about being a guy digging around and putting things back together. Lol It's interesting to talk to him about various injuries and his experience in medical school and his residency etc.

Monster, you make a good point about injured players not generally being ready for immediate surgery due to swelling, etc. I guess we should be grateful that Donte got in within 24 hours...doesn't happen often!

[WildWolf2813]

even if he's recovered enough to physically return which could happen by mid-March, after seeing how Tatum played when he came back, I don't think I wanna see Donte return next season. Tatum's jumper didn't come back fully. He shot 41% from the field and 33% from 3. Everything else looked sound, but ultimately Donte's here to shoot. If the jumper isn't gonna be right, he can only hurt us. This type of recovery time is very very new from this Achilles. Daniel Jones for the Colts is another one who will be back fairly soon from tearing his. We'll see how he looks. I'd equate this to when pitchers get Tommy John surgery or even recovering from Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. The former, guys make it back but it takes them another full year to be back to where they were. TOS is usually a career ender, but Zach Wheeler has been spectacular at 35 years old coming back from that, so we have seen success stories, but usually not immediately. I hope that the team is in a situation where they better they are, the easier it is for Donte to continue to take his time.

[Lipoli390]

even if he's recovered enough to physically return which could happen by mid-March, after seeing how Tatum played when he came back, I don't think I wanna see Donte return next season. Tatum's jumper didn't come back fully. He shot 41% from the field and 33% from 3. Everything else looked sound, but ultimately Donte's here to shoot. If the jumper isn't gonna be right, he can only hurt us. This type of recovery time is very very new from this Achilles. Daniel Jones for the Colts is another one who will be back fairly soon from tearing his. We'll see how he looks. I'd equate this to when pitchers get Tommy John surgery or even recovering from Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. The former, guys make it back but it takes them another full year to be back to where they were. TOS is usually a career ender, but Zach Wheeler has been spectacular at 35 years old coming back from that, so we have seen success stories, but usually not immediately. I hope that the team is in a situation where they better they are, the easier it is for Donte to continue to take his time.

I agree, Wildwolf. I voted May as the most likely month of Donte’s return - in time to help if we’re making a playoff run. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s medically cleared to come back in late March or early April, but to your point, that’s probably not when he SHOULD come back. There no point in having him come back this season if he’s not going to be close to 100%. His effectiveness doesn’t just depend on his shooting, which can take a while to come back after an injury like this one. His effectiveness also depends on him darting around the court disrupting passes and grabbing loose balls. The full Donte package that makes him a net positive requires him to be close to 100% physically and mentally.

Bottom line is we should not expect to see Donte on the floor for the Wolves during the regular season and probably not until late in the playoffs if at all.

[Wolvesfan21]

even if he's recovered enough to physically return which could happen by mid-March, after seeing how Tatum played when he came back, I don't think I wanna see Donte return next season. Tatum's jumper didn't come back fully. He shot 41% from the field and 33% from 3. Everything else looked sound, but ultimately Donte's here to shoot. If the jumper isn't gonna be right, he can only hurt us. This type of recovery time is very very new from this Achilles. Daniel Jones for the Colts is another one who will be back fairly soon from tearing his. We'll see how he looks. I'd equate this to when pitchers get Tommy John surgery or even recovering from Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. The former, guys make it back but it takes them another full year to be back to where they were. TOS is usually a career ender, but Zach Wheeler has been spectacular at 35 years old coming back from that, so we have seen success stories, but usually not immediately. I hope that the team is in a situation where they better they are, the easier it is for Donte to continue to take his time.

I agree, although capable of playing doesn't mean he'll be anywhere close to 100% after missing so much playing time. Watching NFL players also, it's really a 18 month timeframe to get back closer to 100%. He might be able to play at 75-80%, but then how effective will he be?

I guess if he can play next season then we can make determinations based on his play at that point. He's not superstar status where he's a must play no matter what. If he comes back and plays good then great, if he looks rusty and 75%, then just let him sit it out till the next offseason.

[FNG]

even if he's recovered enough to physically return which could happen by mid-March, after seeing how Tatum played when he came back, I don't think I wanna see Donte return next season. Tatum's jumper didn't come back fully. He shot 41% from the field and 33% from 3. Everything else looked sound, but ultimately Donte's here to shoot. If the jumper isn't gonna be right, he can only hurt us. This type of recovery time is very very new from this Achilles. Daniel Jones for the Colts is another one who will be back fairly soon from tearing his. We'll see how he looks. I'd equate this to when pitchers get Tommy John surgery or even recovering from Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. The former, guys make it back but it takes them another full year to be back to where they were. TOS is usually a career ender, but Zach Wheeler has been spectacular at 35 years old coming back from that, so we have seen success stories, but usually not immediately. I hope that the team is in a situation where they better they are, the easier it is for Donte to continue to take his time.

WW, you are correct that Tatum's shooting percentages were worse than his career averages in the 16 regular season games he played after he returned. But you left out some other relevant data that make me feel even more confident that Donte will be a big help to the Wolves late in the season and in the playoffs:

1) While Tatum shot poorly (for him) in his 16 regular season games, most of his other numbers were substantially better than his career numbers. He averaged 10 RPG compared to his career average of 7.4. And his assist and steals numbers were also substantially higher than his career averages.

2) Even better, after getting 16 regular season games under his belt, his numbers in the 6 playoff games were better almost across the board than his career playoff numbers. Here are his playoff averages this past season with his career averages in parentheses:
Points: 23.3 (24.2)
Rebounds: 10.7 (8.3)
Assists : 6.8 (5)
3-point %: 36.5 (34.9)
EFG%: 56.9 (50.7)
So he shot better, rebounded and assisted better, and scored almost as many points per game as his career playoff averages.

3) And since you all know I am a big fan of outscoring your opponent while you're on the court, Tatum's positive on/off of 16.6 was only bettered on the Celtics by Prichard.

As mentioned before, Donte had the same surgeon as Tatum, but he had his surgery three weeks earlier. Of course there are no guarantees that Donte's recovery after O'Malley's surgery will be as fast and successful as Tatum's...but then again, it could be even faster! And if he is on the same schedule as Tatum, he would have three additional weeks of regular season to get his game back in shape. It's difficult to argue that Tatum's recovery experience and performance after his return isn't a reason for optimism as it relates to Donte.

[Wolvesfan21]

even if he's recovered enough to physically return which could happen by mid-March, after seeing how Tatum played when he came back, I don't think I wanna see Donte return next season. Tatum's jumper didn't come back fully. He shot 41% from the field and 33% from 3. Everything else looked sound, but ultimately Donte's here to shoot. If the jumper isn't gonna be right, he can only hurt us. This type of recovery time is very very new from this Achilles. Daniel Jones for the Colts is another one who will be back fairly soon from tearing his. We'll see how he looks. I'd equate this to when pitchers get Tommy John surgery or even recovering from Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. The former, guys make it back but it takes them another full year to be back to where they were. TOS is usually a career ender, but Zach Wheeler has been spectacular at 35 years old coming back from that, so we have seen success stories, but usually not immediately. I hope that the team is in a situation where they better they are, the easier it is for Donte to continue to take his time.

WW, you are correct that Tatum's shooting percentages were worse than his career averages in the 16 regular season games he played after he returned. But you left out some other relevant data that make me feel even more confident that Donte will be a big help to the Wolves late in the season and in the playoffs:

1) While Tatum shot poorly (for him) in his 16 regular season games, most of his other numbers were substantially better than his career numbers. He averaged 10 RPG compared to his career average of 7.4. And his assist and steals numbers were also substantially higher than his career averages.

2) Even better, after getting 16 regular season games under his belt, his numbers in the 6 playoff games were better almost across the board than his career playoff numbers. Here are his playoff averages this past season with his career averages in parentheses:
Points: 23.3 (24.2)
Rebounds: 10.7 (8.3)
Assists : 6.8 (5)
3-point %: 36.5 (34.9)
EFG%: 56.9 (50.7)
So he shot better, rebounded and assisted better, and scored almost as many points per game as his career playoff averages.

3) And since you all know I am a big fan of outscoring your opponent while you're on the court, Tatum's positive on/off of 16.6 was only bettered on the Celtics by Prichard.

As mentioned before, Donte had the same surgeon as Tatum, but he had his surgery three weeks earlier. Of course there are no guarantees that Donte's recovery after O'Malley's surgery will be as fast and successful as Tatum's...but then again, it could be even faster! And if he is on the same schedule as Tatum, he would have three additional weeks of regular season to get his game back in shape. It's difficult to argue that Tatum's recovery experience and performance after his return isn't a reason for optimism as it relates to Donte.

While he performed admirably and arguably well in the small sample size in the playoffs, I think that the eye test for me says he was still not 100%. He looked more like 80% or so and just as easily could have struggled.

DDV also relies heavily on his hustle and aggressiveness, two things which likely will be slowed down some say at that same timeframe as Tatum had.

I guess for me, I wouldn't count on DDV to give us anything towards the end of the year/playoffs. But if he does it's a bonus.