By Geoff Lepper
48minutes.net

Yahoo! Sports NBA writer Marc J. Spears, formerly of the Boston Globe and before that the Denver Post, is reporting via Twitter that Warriors forward Brandan Wright injured his left shoulder during Friday night’s practice – the last of Golden State’s two-a-day training camp sessions – (oops: they go twice today) and is scheduled for an MRI on Monday.

Assuming Spears’ report is correct (and there’s no reason to think otherwise), it could be a major setback for Wright. The third-year forward appeared in only 39 games last year because he missed more than two months after suffering a partial dislocation of the same shoulder against the Lakers on Jan. 7. Wright was injured after getting tangled up with Pau Gasol and immediately went to the locker room. The first diagnosis was that he would miss a minimum of three weeks, but it obviously ended up being considerably longer.

Wright had been playing some of his best ball of the season just before the injury, having started nine consecutive games. His absence allowed second-year forward Anthony Randolph to pass him on the Warriors’ depth chart; Wright was expected this season to be a backup to Randolph and potentially play alongside him.

If Wright is out for more than just a few practices, it would open the door for a return to the days of Corey Maggette at the 4, or for Mikki Moore or Devean George to step forward and claim a significant chunk of the backup minutes there.