Kevin Durant missed much of the 2019 NBA Playoffs because of a lingering right calf strain. After missing the Golden State Warriors’ series-clinching Game 6 semifinals win over the Houston Rockets, all of the Western Conference Finals and the first four games of the Finals, Durant made his fateful postseason return.
He took to the court in Game 5, scored 11 points in 12 minutes and promptly tore his right Achilles tendon when stepping down awkwardly to avoid going out of bounds. The former two-time Finals MVP returned to save the struggling, injury-beleaguered Warriors; he claims he did that on his own steam, of out his own competitive desire to help his team.
Yet, it is hard to find anyone who will say Durant belonged on the court in that game, with some questioning whether he had either been pressured by the franchise to return or given a false sense of assurance from medical personnel regarding the potential to worsen the calf strain or suffer a new injury.
The Brooklyn Nets, according to general manager Sean Marks in an interview with WFAN radio on Tuesday, are taking a very different approach with the 10-time All-Star.
As transcribed by ESPN, Marks said:
I have no idea (when Durant will return). We’re certainly not going to rush him back. There’s going to be absolutely none of that. We have far too much invested in him, and we owe it to Kevin to get him back to 100 percent.
(A return date) is entirely going to be a Kevin Durant decision.
Marks further stated that the team’s standings next season will not impact his viewpoint. The question, however, is whether the Nets medical team will be willing to stop Durant from returning too soon if he tries. He is a competitor after all but that competitive zeal got him a ruptured Achilles.
