Kevin Durant did not play this season and will not participate in the resumed NBA season in Orlando next month because he is still recovering from a torn Achilles tendon suffered during last year’s NBA Finals. But Durant believes he probably would not have played in the restart even if he were healthy.
Durant was on “Dawg Talk” for an interview published on Thursday and shared his stance.
“I probably wouldn’t have played because the unknown going into that situation looks crazy right now, seeing so many new cases,” Durant said. “It’s just so unpredictable. It’s easy for me to say right now because I’m injured, but I probably wouldn’t have went down there (to Orlando).
“If the guys feel safe enough to go play, that’s cool, I’m with them. If they don’t feel like they should go down there and play or don’t feel safe, I’m with them too. I’m all about what the group wants.
“Obviously, I would have talked to my teammates and consulted with my guys and actually really went over it for the last month and a half, but me, my gut would have told me nah, I probably wouldn’t want to go down there, especially after three months off.”
Durant seemed to express two concerns in his response: coronavirus cases and the possibility of injury after an extended layoff. The latter was a concern shared by at least another prominent player. Durant was among the Brooklyn Nets players to test positive for the coronavirus in March. Another one of his Nets teammates, Kyrie Irving, expressed concerns with the restart and actually rallied against it.
