David Lee's return to Warriors is imminent

David Lee surprised his teammates right before their three-game road trip, and now they're hoping for him to give them an even bigger surprise before the trip ends.

Lee was cleared Thursday for light conditioning and will be re-evaluated today - leaving an outside shot of meeting the team for the trip's finale in Minneapolis on Saturday. The power forward, who has been out with an infection in his left elbow as a result of an injury on Nov. 10, will more likely be cleared to play in home games Tuesday against San Antonio or Thursday against Phoenix.

Lee had the stitches removed from his left arm Tuesday and the PICC-line (a peripherally inserted central catheter for IV's) removed from his right arm Wednesday. He drove to Oakland on Tuesday to send the team off to Houston with some baked goods and well wishes.

"We can't wait to get him back because he just brings so much positivity to our team," coach Keith Smart said. "I've been around our team for a long time and the NBA. The guy was not going on a road trip, but he brought two cakes for the team to take on the road. ... That's a true teammate that our guys have in David Lee."