Vince Goodwill: I Don't Think Luka Doncic Is Close At All To Return

Vince Goodwill does not see Luka Doncic walking back onto the floor anytime soon.

The Yahoo Sports senior NBA writer joined Rich and laid out his read on the Lakers and the Wolves as two teams in completely different injury situations.

"I don't think Luka Doncic is close at all to getting back on the floor," Goodwill said. "My colleague Brian Windhorst said that they haven't even begun the ramp-up phase. When you're talking about a hamstring, you've got to be very, very careful about it."

His framing was about long-term equity. The Lakers, Goodwill argued, have to think about Doncic as a 10-year investment. He pointed to historical cases of players who messed up a hamstring and never got the quickness back. Pushing a return for a Game 4 in a playoff series, in his read, is a poor trade against the value of Luka in 2030.

The Wolves got a different read, with a different word choice.

"For Minnesota, Anthony Edwards coming back is a little bit of the raisin in the potato salad for people who want to see the Spurs and the Thunder playing the Western Conference Finals," Goodwill said. "I think they can be spoilers."

He laid out the Wolves' history. Two straight Conference Finals appearances. A team that beat up on the Denver Nuggets, the team most assumed would give San Antonio a real second-round series. A path that has always run through underdog status against more favored opponents. Edwards back, even hobbled, gives them a real chance to steal a game or two and make a series uncomfortable.

"They have the requisite experience to do so," Goodwill said. "I don't think they're nervous at all."

The wrinkle came at the end. Rich noted that Shams Charania had Doncic at a shootaround that morning, suggesting Luka might be pushing to come back earlier than the Lakers' plan.

Goodwill's read still held. The Lakers, he argued, should be pulling Luka back, not letting him push forward.