As the discussion of Kevin Durant’s return has become more focused on “when” due to the NBA’s extended hiatus, something that’s been lost is what will the Nets’ star forward looks like when he gets back in the game.
The occasional glimpses of his rehab and workouts show the progress he’s made, but the injury he sustained is not an easy one to bounce back from. It’s not necessarily a question of “Will Durant still be elite?” rather, “Will he be the same player he was before?”
While that’s a question that no amount of speculation can answer, Brooklyn Nets general manager Sean Marks did provide some insight on Durant’s progress when he joined Jeff Wilson on Sky Sports’ “The Pod“:
How does Kevin look when he comes back? I can tell you now he looks pretty darn good and I’m excited about him on the floor at Barclays in front of that fan base. But how do they mesh? How do they all play together? That’s the chess game, the intricacies of what a coaching staff does, what the management group does to put the right pieces around them. But it’s also about the ownership those players have in some taking a back seat, some saying now, it’s your game, now is your turn to shine, whatever it may be. So, it’ll be an interesting journey. and that’s part of it is embracing that journey.
As for the “ownership” Marks touched on, he feels Durant and Kyrie Irving choosing Brooklyn on their own, after the Nets built themselves up as a franchise, shows their level of investment. And that will continue to help shape the team.
Because for those two, as Marks put it, their time in Brooklyn is “about their legacy”:
That’s what these guys are fighting for now. If you talk to Kevin and Ky, they’ve both won —Kevin’s won two championships, Ky’s won a championship— so now, it’s how do we make this ours, how do we take this to the next level and who do we do it with? That’s a big part of their decisions. From players situation, they’re going to have a voice. It’s, hey I want to play with Caris LeVert and the other guys. Spencer Dinwiddie, the other guys on our team and not to leave anybody out.