The Nets hold out hope the NBA season will resume. But a radically altered schedule won’t change Kevin Durant’s return plan.
Though the currently suspended 2019-20 season could now stretch as late as October — when Durant would’ve been preparing to return from a year-long absence with a ruptured Achilles — due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Nets are reportedly intent on letting the two-time Finals MVP recover until the start of next season,
“Kevin Durant’s not coming back to the Nets this year. That’s not happening if they play. They’re not playing him,” ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said on The Woj Pod during a discussion about rushing players back to finish this season.
When Durant, 31, signed a four-year, max deal with the Nets last summer, the expectation was for their newest superstar to rest and rehab for one year, before returning for the 2020-21 season, which could now reportedly begin as late as Christmas. But with Durant having advanced to 3-on-3 games in recent weeks and the Nets (30-34) in line for the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference if the season resumes — with one scenario jumping right into the playoffs — a window appeared open for Durant to make a cinematic debut with Brooklyn.
General manager Sean Marks kept the idea alive when he recently stated Durant’s return date was still flexible.
“That’s a $110 million question,” Marks told Newshub. “In all seriousness, we’ve tried not to talk about his timeline a lot.
“I can tell you this though — before the pandemic, he looked like Kevin Durant and that’s a good thing.”
However, the risk of bringing their franchise-changing star back prematurely outweighs the potential reward of a rusty Durant — who was one of four Nets who contracted COVID-19 — trying to develop chemistry with new teammates and make an unlikely run in the postseason.
“I just don’t know how coming out of this pandemic will affect anybody, let alone Kevin,” Marks said. “When you’ve got enough invested in a player like Kevin, we’re never going to push him to come back.”