The Golden State Warriors have been trying to ease DeMarcus Cousins along in terms of his potential return to the court.

Earlier this week, Cousins was assigned to Golden State's G League affiliate in Santa Cruz. However, despite it appearing that Cousins could be inching closer to suiting up for the Warriors, Greg Papa of 95.7 The Game in San Francisco says Cousins might not be that close to returning, after all.

"The feeling that I got from being around it last night, DeMarcus is not nearly as close as we think he is," Papa said. "I'm hearing well into January, maybe February before he comes back."

Earlier this month, Warriors coach Steve Kerr gave an update on Cousins' progress and revealed the plan to send his star center down to the G League. Kerr even admitted that Cousins could play in a game for the Santa Cruz Warriors, but that hadn't been determined just yet.

Cousins is coming off a torn Achilles injury that he suffered in late January as a member of the New Orleans Pelicans. Prior to the injury, the All-Star center was in the midst of having one of the best seasons of his NBA career, averaging 25.2 points, 12.9 rebounds and 1.6 blocks.

The former lottery pick is being eased along in terms of his rehab and it's unclear when he'll return to the court. Cousins signed a one-year deal with the Warriors in July.

The Warriors, back in action Friday against the Kings (10 p.m. ET -- watch on fuboTV with the NBA League Pass extension), don't exactly have a ton of depth in their frontcourt at the present time. Center Damian Jones, who won the starting job in training camp, recently underwent surgery for a torn pectoral and will be out of action for multiple months. Cousins will certainly provide a huge boost once he does return to the hardwood.