The Brooklyn Nets will take a cautious approach with their franchise centerpiece. Kevin Durant will reportedly miss the 2019-20 playoffs.
The day is almost here. The NBA will make its return on July 31. Every team invited back has had its fair share of obstacles during the hiatus, but the Brooklyn Nets have had to monitor Kevin Durant‘s health with an eye towards the future amongst all the other concerns.
According to Anthony Puccio of NetsDaily, the decision has been made — Durant will not make his debut for his new team just yet and will sit out the remainder of the season.
After months of backtracking due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NBA board of governors approved a return-to-play format on June 4 that would bring 22 teams to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando at the end of July.
This approval came nearly a year after Durant tore his Achilles in Game 5 of his third consecutive NBA Finals with the Warriors. Recovering from an Achilles tear can be one of the more grueling rehabilitations, but there remained optimism that Durant could make a triumphant return for the seventh-seeded Nets, even before the NBA suspended play.
Multiple sources seemed to hint at a potential return for the former MVP in time for the playoffs in April, as Durant had been progressing very well with his recovery.
The NBA’s postponement added fuel to the fire of speculations regarding whether or not Durant could make a return and establish the Nets as a legitimate threat to the rest of the league. But now it seems that the franchise is taking the cautious approach and holding their star out until 2020-21.
Durant is itching to play, but understands the value of patience, saying, “I’ll be back when it’s time” during an appearance on Lil Wayne’s Young Money Radio Show in May.
With the revised league format aiming at a Dec. 1 start to next season, it will not be long before “easymoneysniper” returns to wreak havoc on the rest of the league.