According to Nick Selbe of Sports Illustrated on Sunday, the Brooklyn Nets will not have superstar Kevin Durant in their lineup if the 2019-20 National Basketball Association returns. At this time, there is not even a “slam dunk” that the NBA will be finishing its season whatsoever, especially if the United States is about to experience a “second wave” of one of the worst pandemics in the history of civilization.
Durant suffered a major Achilles tendon injury in game five of the 2019 NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors while playing for the Golden State Warriors. Durant has not played since, even though he signed a four-year deal worth a whopping $164 million with Brooklyn this past July.
The news that Durant would not play at all could be considered a little bit of a surprise. Under normal circumstances, Durant would have been back on the basketball court this September for the 2020-21 NBA regular season. Due to coronavirus, there is a possibility that the NBA Playoffs for 2019-20 could still take place in September.
There is no doubt that the forward from Washington, D.C. is one of the most impactful active players in the NBA. When healthy, the 2014 NBA most valuable player and the 2017 and 2018 NBA Finals MVP from Los Angeles is a difference-maker who can transcend the tempo of a particular game by his complete all-round skills.
For now, Nets fans will have to wait. Currently, Brooklyn is currently seventh in the Eastern Conference with a record of 30 wins and 32 losses. As for Australia native Kyrie Irving, the Nets’ other star player, he had shoulder surgery in March, and there are no reports he will be back in the Brooklyn lineup either, if play is to resume and complete the 2019-20 NBA season.
