| | SAN ANTONIO -- Sean Elliott received clearance Tuesday from team doctors to resume practicing with the San Antonio Spurs, marking the latest step in his comeback from kidney transplant surgery.
He said it could be one or two months before he is ready to be
activated.
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| Elliott |
"I knew this was coming. I kept saying it," Elliott said.
"I'm not going to be afraid to at least go out there and try."
Elliott received a kidney from his brother, Noel, in the
transplant operation last summer following San Antonio's run to the
NBA championship. He was cleared in December to run and get in
shape, and he has been taking part in one-on-one and two-on-two
drills with the team.
He will begin full-scale practices Wednesday, and Tuesday
night's game against the Lakers marked the last one Elliott planned
to work in his temporary job as a color commentator on the team's
broadcasts.
Team doctors plan to run a series of tests on Elliott before and
after each practice.
"First I want to make sure he's safe, that he maintains his
health," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "We'll see if the grind
changes his health, then it'll be a question of whether he can help
the basketball team.
"It's a basketball decision now, not a medical decision, as to
when he can play."
San Antonio entered Tuesday's game with the fourth-best record
in the Western Conference. Last season, the Spurs had the best
record in the league thanks in part to Elliott's play at the small
forward spot.
In Elliott's absence, the Spurs have met limited success using
Jaren Jackson, Chucky Brown and Jerome Kersey at small forward.
The return of Elliott would help, but the team first wanted to
be certain that Elliott was at no risk of severely injuring himself
if he absorbed a hard blow to the abdomen or lower back.
Elliott had a condition known as focal segmental glomerular
sclerosis, an illness that prevents the kidneys from properly
filtering waste from the blood. Without the transplant, Elliott was
weeks away from having to undergo dialysis.
Elliott's own doctors gave him the go-ahead last week to resume
full-contact practices, and the Spurs' doctors added their OK on
Tuesday.
"I think it's going to get harder and harder. It's not going to
be easy," Elliott said. "But the potential of something damaging
happening is overblown." | |
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 Sean Elliott just wants to contribute.
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Gregg Popovich will support Elliott's decision.
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