The expectation in Brooklyn is that Kevin Durant will miss the entire 2019-20 season, according to general manager Sean Marks.
Durant is recovering from surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles tendon, a devastating injury he suffered in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.
Marks says the Nets have a “long-term plan” for KD after acquiring the superstar forward in free agency this past summer.
Per The AP and The NY Daily News:
“With Kevin, I think what we’re going to say is the expectations are that he’ll be out for the year,” Marks said.
Marks said Durant hasn’t given any indication that he plans to take things slowly.
“I think you’re looking at one of the great competitors out there, so I think I would be remiss if I said no, he probably doesn’t want to play,” Marks said. “I think it’s obvious he wants to play, but I think there’s more at stake here. This is, again, a long-term approach. There are a lot of people with a lot of sweat equity in this from the rehab perspective and so forth. And so I think it’ll be a group that makes the decision, and obviously Kevin included as to when and how that return is made.”
The only sure thing is that Durant, a 30-year-old basketball junkie, is itching to play.
“This is just an easier way to say that Kevin controls the rehab,” Marks explained. “And he’s attacking this like no other. I’ve been excited to see — I think we all have — how he approached this rehab. It’s been great, very refreshing and energizing for the whole group. But at the end of the day, this is a long-term plan here. This was never about next season. This was about getting an elite athlete back to elite physical shape.”
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