Jared Dudley was brought in by the Washington Wizards this offseason to help them try and replace Paul Pierce. Dudley underwent back surgery this offseason and has been working very hard to try and get back from the injury and it seems to be paying off. Dudley participated in his first practice of the offseason on Wednesday and it is possible that he could get into games by the end of the preseason, according to Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post.
Dudley was a full participant in practice on Wednesday and he was rusty and felt tired afterwards but it was still a step in the right direction for the 30 year old forward. Dudley is right on schedule with his recovery right now as he is right in line with the doctors 12 week timetable they gave him but he would have been back sooner if he didn't suffer a minor setback.
Dudley had such a rigorous rehab plan that he felt discomfort in his back about seven weeks after the surgery. Dudley thinks that if he didn't have that minor setback he would have been fully practicing two weeks ago. Either way though Dudley is on track and wants to get into a couple of preseason games before the regular season opens up but head coach Randy Wittman is unsure if he will and doesn't think it is a requirement.
"We got to temper it. We got to make sure we're doing the right things. As I told him, I'm not too concerned with playing in the preseason. If we get to that point and he feels really good and the doctors think everything is good from that standpoint, we'll see. But it's not imperative that he gets in there," said Wittman.
Dudley is all set to be ready for the season opener at the latest and that is a big deal especially when you consider that Alan Anderson just underwent an ankle procedure and will likely miss time. Dudley was expected to play stretch four off the bench for the Wizards this season but now with Anderson out he will likely have to play a little bit more of his natural small forward position.
Dudley has played in the NBA for eight seasons with four different teams and has found a nice niche as a shooter off the bench. For his career the 6 foot-7 forward has averaged 8.5 points and 3.4 rebounds in 24 minutes per game while shooting 40 percent from three point land.
