Golden State's guard had played in 13 games since his season debut on Jan. 23, and was coming off one of his better outings - 14 points and a season-high five steals in Saturday's 133-120 win over the Thunder - before the decision to rest his ankle was made.

"We've been pretty cautious with him all along and I think we'll proceed with that," assistant general manager Larry Riley said. "I'm not alarmed, but I think he needs some time. How much, I don't know."

A break would allow Ellis to focus on strengthening the ankle again, and though it's not unreasonable to believe that the 6-foot-3 guard could be done for the season, Riley said he wasn't aware of any such talk.

A team official added that Ellis has been ruled out only of the next three games, and that a return was possible at some point during the Warriors' Midwest road trip, March 3-7.

Ellis stayed behind in Oakland for "advanced rehabilitation" with Mark Grabow, the team's strength and conditioning coach.

The fourth-year guard originally injured his ankle while riding a moped in August and was subsequently fined $3 million by Warriors President Robert Rowell. The two parties remain at odds over Rowell's ability to void Ellis' six-year, $66 million contract.

Ellis spent the first few months of the season rehabbing, then practiced for about two weeks before rejoining the starting lineup. He was averaging 13.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 33.2 minutes since his return, though there have been warning signs and flare-ups.

His ankle stiffened at halftime of the Warriors' blowout loss to the Mavs on Jan. 28, when he also banged knees with Jason Kidd. Three games later, Ellis was diagnosed with a mild ankle sprain after landing awkwardly on his left foot at the end of the overtime loss to San Antonio.

Ellis' latest absence comes a day after Nelson told his team that he would begin cutting down minutes for his veterans and let his youngsters get more court time as the Warriors wind down another playoff-less season.

Along those lines, Nelson could go with Marco Belinelli to replace Ellis in the starting lineup. Belinelli, who returned two games ago from a monthlong injury layoff, had started 14 straight games before spraining his right ankle Jan. 14.

It's also likely that rookie Anthony Morrow, who hasn't played at all in the last three games, will be finding himself back in the rotation.

Stephen Jackson, who leads in the NBA in minutes played, and Jamal Crawford said they were fine with the philosophical shift.

"We've got so many young guys with such potential and they work so hard, it's good to get them some game experience," Crawford said.

"They definitely deserve it," added Jackson, who compared his young teammates to the Thunder's impressive trio of Kevin Durant, Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook.

"The potential is definitely there. Our young guys are not the focal point of our team like their young guys are. If they were, they would be at that level. As time comes and they get more chance to play, they'll definitely get there."

Biedrins update: Center Andris Biedrins is expected back after practicing Sunday for the first time since spraining his left ankle Feb. 6.

- Janny Hu E-mail Janny Hu at jhu@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page D - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle