“I could just tell by his reaction that it was something pretty significant. He started to swell up pretty good within a matter of minutes,” Coach Wes Unseld Jr. said. “… [The medical staff] treated it several times, they had plenty of time on the flight to treat it and put him in a boot for precautionary reasons. He says he’s progressing better than he thought as of this morning and I know it’ll be some time before we get him back into live action, but he seems to be in good spirits.”
With Kispert’s injury, Washington will probably be down two significant players for its next preseason game in Charlotte on Monday.
Deni Avdija is doubtful to play as he continues to recover from a left groin strain, Unseld said. Although the forward is progressing, he is still sitting out the competitive parts of training camp.
Kispert was a surprise success story last season after the team initially pegged him to play with its G League affiliate because of the abundance of guards on the Wizards’ roster. He developed into a reliable shooter who impressed Unseld with his sharp instincts, decisiveness and standout cutting and worked his way into starting 36 of the 77 games he played.
As a rookie he shot 45.5 percent from the field and 35 percent from beyond the arc and scored 8.2 points per game. That he was rarely hurt made him a great asset during an injury-laden season — only Avdija, who saw action in all 82 games, played more.
Kispert’s absence opens the door for this year’s No. 10 pick Johnny Davis and veteran shooting guard Will Barton to earn more minutes. Davis had a rocky showing in the two preseason games in Japan, shooting a combined 0 for 12 against the Warriors.
Unseld said he was not particularly concerned nor surprised to see Davis struggle as he played him at point guard, which is not his natural position.
“I think [this is] just an opportunity for him to kind of step into a role — we talked about it preseason, the way our depth is laid out, it’s kind of tough to pencil in a lot of minutes for a young player right now,” Unseld said. “So he’s going to opportunity, and hopefully he takes full advantage of that opportunity much like the way Corey did last year.”