Walker sits down to give injury update 💜 | UTAH JAZZ

Walker sits down to give injury update 💜 | UTAH JAZZ

It goes as well. Did you all have a good uh Thanksgiving? No. No. Really? I was so sick. So a stinks. Flu or what? You have Yeah, I’m just Yeah, that really stinks. Also doing Thanksgiving. Yeah. All right. Oh man. Wow. This is weird. I’m a little shy though. I haven’t done it. Never been on the podium before. Um, I want to start with like the history of the shoulder injury because I know it’s been something that has what did not just happen right then, right? Like so tell us kind of how that’s been over the years. Yeah, so I’ve had a um a labram a posterior lab tear in my left shoulder. Um since Auburn, I think in Tennessee game I tore it. Um and just kind of try to play through it, you know, strengthen it. Um but during this year at some point it just the the doctor explained it as the more it sublexes and stuff the more it just all those tendons get stretched out and regardless of how much strengthening you do especially with the posterior like there’s no amount of strengthening that’ll keep it from slipping out again and again again. Um so he told me hey you got to have the surgery. You know you’ve already subluxed it you know so many times. Um, so, you know, finally to have it 100%. You know, I’m looking forward to to when I can start playing again and and feel how it feels when I’m playing. But, um, but yeah, just been attacking rehab every day. You know, it’s a day-by-day process, obviously, a long process, but it’s going really well. I’ve got good range of motion right now. Um, so just just going for it. with the history of it, do you feel like there’s potentially you haven’t been a you haven’t been able to really like reach your full potential? Yeah, you could definitely say that. Um, you know, it’s hard for me. It’s kind of like I don’t know just because obviously I didn’t have it fully healthy, but um obviously, you know, anything fully healthy is not going to do any worse to you. So, um, you know, to have it fully healthy and not only that, but be fully confident in it, you know, and not worry about, you know, reaching out or going, you know, for those vertical blocks and I still was going for them obviously, but there was just some times where I couldn’t, you know, do those certain movements. Um, so to have that, you know, knocked out of the way and to be fully ready, I mean, I’m going to be ready next year. Um, and I’m really, really looking forward to it. Was it a pain issue or an effectiveness issue? Effect issue. So like every time it would sublux all the muscles and stuff around it would kind of seize up to where I couldn’t like move it for a couple of days. Um and then another thing is the more you sublux it the more risk of injury of you know destroying everything around it. You know the rotator cuff, the anterior labum. Um and so that’s why it was you know necessary at practice and things watching. Are you already kind of seeing the game different from just kind of Yeah, it’s been it’s been um it’s been really interesting. You know, I think for one, you know, I obviously really miss being out there and I think watching, you know, those guys play and compete. Um it makes you realize how much, you know, you love the sport of basketball and how much like you long for it. Um, but as far as like learning for sure, you know, I think taking a backseat in watching it to where I’m not actively in the game, you know, it allows you to see stuff more from a bird’s eye perspective, you know, when you’re not, it’s kind of hard to explain, but like when you’re fatigued on the bench, you know, you’re receiving coaching obviously, but you’re not thinking about every little thing or every little thing that everyone’s doing. Um, but to see it, you know, from a different perspective, um, has been been huge for me. Do you think that even helps understanding it from the coach’s perspective? So when you get back, you’re going to be like, “Oh, I know how to communicate.” No question. No question. Because there’s definitely sometimes as a player where a coach will say, “You, you know, you should have been here that did this.” But as a player, you’re like, “I didn’t see that at all.” You know, cuz I can’t see behind me or what, but to see it from his perspective, you know, you can definitely see and understand the coach’s side of things a little more. How’s the team made you feel a part of the team? I mean, the the the first day I said I was getting surgery, the day of the surgery, I mean, basically all my teammates have texted me. Um, you know, I’m still very involved. You know, I show up to film, I go to practice, uh, do my rehab during practice in the locker room. Um, so really engaged with them and they’ve been awesome. You know, they haven’t made me feel like I’m isolated from the team. You know, they’ve all been great teammates. Um, you know, we’re all still cutting up, still doing whatever. they’re not, you know, messing with me as much, you know, on my shoulder. But, um, you know, yeah, it’s been it’s been really good. Will mentioned that you’ve been still been pretty positive, you know, after going through this. What’s allowed you to have that kind of mindset? Yeah, you know, I think for me, you know, counting your blessings and realizing you have so much to be thankful for is a great way to fight off negativity. And I have a lot to be thankful for. You know, I’m I have an unbelievable circle around me. have great family, great friends, a great, you know, franchise, great teammates, great city. And another thing like for not to bring in Taylor, but like a lower body injury, I can’t imagine how difficult it was mentally. You even when I was, you know, bedridden, so to speak, and surgery, I could still be like, “All right, I’m going to go for a walk outside after like week one.” But, you know, he couldn’t go anywhere. You know, he’s on a scooter and that’s that would be really tough. Um, it’s my not my dominant hand, so I can still, you know, do everything I need to do with my right hand. Um, so it could be a lot worse. And, you know, to have this fixed now, like Sarah said, to know that it’s going to be 100%, you know, gives me a lot of confidence going into, you know, the year after this year. It comes at kind of a weird time for you contractually. It’s a contract year, right? How do you view it maybe affecting your future contracting? Well, Andy, um, you know, I’m like I said at the beginning of the year, I’m not really going to talk about contract stuff. Um, you know, my my feelings obviously, you know, haven’t really changed. You know, this is obviously, you know, it was frustrating at first, but I think everything happens for a reason. So, I’m just going to focus on my rehab right now and attack the rehab with the best intensity I can and that’s all I’m going to be focused on right now. um and being the best teammate I can, you know, a different way. Obviously, not playing with those guys, but off the court. Your dad’s a surgeon, right? Does having somebody who’s a surgeon in your family help kind of understand this stuff or No question. No, I think I mean, obviously having another another opinion that’s has your best interest in mind. Obviously, not that the surgeon that did my surgery didn’t have my best interest in mine, but my he’s my dad, you know. So, him giving me the confidence saying like, “Hey, you need to get this surgery.” um really allowed me to be like, “Okay, you know, regardless of how I feel about it, I got to get it. It’s going to be better, you know, for the better.” Um and so, you know, I I had to do it. Um it definitely helped though. Definitely helped because it is a contract year. Was there a part of you that thought, “No, I should just green and bear it.” I mean, again, there was no option to do that when both surgeons had told me, “Hey, you got to get this surgery.” So, regardless of how I felt, I had to get the surgery. I mean, to be fair, we’re not going to be able to probably talk to you again this year, like in this kind of setting. So, with the with the contract, I’m wondering like when you first get the news like surgery is necessary, is that something that comes into your mind? Naturally. Yeah. But you you kind of have to boot it right away, you know? And that’s that’s all I kind of say on it because there’s no point regardless of how you feel about it’s not going to change anything. So, you got to move on. Again, count your blessings. You know, there’s a lot to be thankful for. What’s your understanding of kind of when you’re going to be able to do sort of more in terms of rehab? Like what what’s the process going to be like there? Yeah. So, there’s different phases um depending on timetable. So, right now I think I’m in phase two um and depending on it’s like 8 to 12 weeks, you know, then they start incorporating certain movements, you know, out in front of your body, more far away from your body. Um and then after another you know certain amount of time they go into phase three which is a whole another deal. So just we have a timetable it’s obviously not like exactly like this but you know they just certain parameters they have to meet before moving on to the next phase. Um but right now you know I’m going doing really well feel great um moving well feels good. So just continue to take it day by day. When do you think that you’re going to be able to travel with the team? I don’t know that yet. That’s not just a personal decision. That’s a team. A lot of stuff that goes into that. So, is there a target month for you to be fully clear? Not right now. No. For me personally, I just want to be 100% by the time the offseason comes so I can really hit the off seasonason ready to get back to work. Okay. Awesome. Thank you. Good to see you all as well. I I I do have really really important question. a lot of damn time. So, so I started the stand started the stand. Um, I’m not going to lie, it’s a lot. I mean, it’s a lot. It’s like like I don’t know which characters I’m supposed to like remember and then it’ll be like, yeah, like it go like a whole like three chapters about this one character like, “Yeah, but he died.” And it’s like, okay, why, you know, need to know about that? But, I mean, it’s world building. I get it. Um, so I’ve been doing that. Uh, I got a Lego set. Um, I’m doing Bodor, the ISR on Border Rings Tower. So, I did Rivendell this summer. So, I’m doing that one now. Um, I know it’s like crazy. It’s crazy. Um, so I’ll do that. Uh, watching movies, uh, hanging out with people, family, friends, come out. It’s really it. I mean, drive. Go for drives, you know, especially with the Christmas lights now. Go listen to music. Weather’s been, you know, there was one day was really pretty. It was nice, cool, blue skies. It was really good. So, no, spirits are great. Like, I I’ve been finding my time. Once I like can start like going like this with my left hand, I’ll probably start getting back into guitar, too. Um, once you start actually getting into Dark Tower, I want regular. I know. I will. Okay. Trust me, cuz that that looks like that big stand. Well, I mean, the first one of the Dark Towers, the next But I don’t I don’t I don’t think I’m the whole like read the first two jump to this. I I just want to read the stand first and then I’m going to read the dark tower and

Walker sits down with the media to talk about where his rehab process is and what his season has been like so far.

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