Account
Nets' Kevin Durant on Achilles Injury Rehab: 'I'll Be Back When It's Time'
May 13, 2020
Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant is not putting a time frame on when he will return to the court as he continues to rehab from a ruptured Achilles suffered in Game 5 of the 2019 NBA Finals.
Appearing on Lil' Wayne's Young Money Radio (h/t Net Income of Nets Daily), Durant said he would be back "when it's time."
Durant added he "wouldn't say" that anyone with the Nets is trying to rush him back, "but, obviously, everybody's anxious to see how we're going to fit together, especially me and Kyrie. It's a new situation.”
If the NBA is able to finish this season, there has been speculation about the possibility of Durant playing. Some of the talk was fueled by how the two-time NBA Finals MVP looked during on-court workouts before facilities were shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Nets general manager Sean Marks added fuel to the fire earlier this month when he jokingly called Durant's return "a $110 million question."
"In all seriousness, we've tried not to talk about his timeline a lot," Marks told Grant Chapman of New Zealand's Newshub. "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."
Despite some increased optimism, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported on his podcast Sunday that Durant is "not coming back to the Nets this year. ... They're not playing him."
The Nets acquired Durant in a sign-and-trade with the Golden State Warriors last July. He told ESPN's First Take in October 2019 he planned on sitting out this season.
Given the uncertainty around the NBA during the pandemic, there's a chance Durant could be physically ready to play if this season resumes at some point in the summer.
Brooklyn owned the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference with a 30-34 record at the time play was suspended on March 11.