The NBA’s No. 1 question from the 2019-20 season — aside from the concern over whether or not the season will continue — is back on the table again. Will Kevin Durant suit up for the Brooklyn Nets in 2019-20?
When the league’s hiatus began in March, it seemed the pause might provide the forward the opportunity to finish his rehab and come back for the postseason. Now almost two months into the hiatus, the season is very much in question, but the break in the action has given Durant more time.
A month into the hiatus, Durant’s business manager Rich Kleiman said he thought it was “unrealistic” for the season to continue. Also, according to Kleiman, he and Durant had yet to discuss this possibility of a return should action resume.
When asked about the matter, Brooklyn Nets general manager Sean Marks recently told Grant Chapman of NewsHub: “That’s a $110 million question. In all seriousness, We’ve tried not to talk about [Durant’s] timeline a lot,” adding:
He knows his body better than anybody. Our performance team and training staff have done a tremendous job getting him to this point, but I just don’t know how coming out of this pandemic will affect anybody, let alone Kevin. When you’ve got enough invested in a player like Kevin, we’re never going to push him to come back. When the timing is right, he’ll be 100% when he gets on the court.
Most importantly, Marks concluded by stating:
I can tell you this though: before the pandemic, he looked like Kevin Durant and that’s a good thing.
Durant’s Nets teammates have expressed a similar sentiment, especially those who participated in his three-on-three workouts before the hiatus.