All season long, the OKC Thunder have been playing without one of their core froncourt contributors in Jaylin Williams.
The big man was originally sidelined back in October with a right hamstring strain, which, though initially projected to hold him out on a week-to-week basis, has now expanded to months of inactivity.
While their top-seeded record of 20-5 suggests Oklahoma City has easily managed to navigate through this first quarter of the campaign without his services, getting Jay Will back into the fold to help strengthen their frontcourt rotation that's also missing star Chet Holmgren (hip) is something fans have been champing at the bit to receive word on.
Unfortunately, it seems that the Thunder may still be a ways away from witnessing his return to action, as coach Mark Daigneault issued an honest take on Williams' current trajectory during a recent team shootaround.
Thunder big Jaylin Williams still has no set date for return to hardwood
When talking to members of the media, Daigneault stressed patience with the healing process for Williams' hamstring, saying "You have to let whatever the injury is heal" before you "get ready to play in games."
"It’s not just being functional in life. You gotta be ready to play an NBA game, and that takes a build up," Daigneault further elaborated, as transcribed by Oklahoman Sports' Joel Lorenzi.
Despite missing all of the preseason and these first 25 games and counting of the regular season, Williams has regularly been seen taking part in shootarounds during practice and in pregame warmups.
However, while this has sparked hope among the franchise's faithful followers that a return to action could be right on the horizon, considering coach Daigneault's latest take on his recovery there's still no telling when the 22-year-old will make his way back to action.
As put by the Thunder headman, he's still in the "process" of getting back to full strength.
Whenever Williams can make his return, it will likely prove to be a tremendous luxury for OKC. Not only would his arrival back to the lineup provide much-needed size behind starting five Isaiah Hartenstein, but his inside-out skill set would be a major boon to the club's struggling offensive production, particularly from beyond the arc.
As things currently stand, the Thunder rank a middling 19 in three-point percentage despite jacking up the ninth-most attempts per game.
For his career, Jaylin Williams is a 38.5 percent shooter from beyond the arc and registers 14.9 points per 100 possessions.
So while the Thunder are objectively doing the right thing by taking it slow with the third-year big's recovery, as hamstring injuries are quite tricky and have been known to easily flair back up, once he's officially medically cleared this OKC squad will all bust certainly welcome him back to the lineup with open arms.