Kevin Durant has moved to New York, but he won't be playing ball in New York for quite a while.
Durant suffered a ruptured Achilles in Game 5 of the NBA Finals when he was still a member of the Warriors. Game 5 marked Durant's return from a strained calf, but early in the third quarter he pulled up with what had become a more serious injury.
The expectation was always that Durant would be unable to play this season due to the severity of his injury. That has now been confirmed Tuesday in a press conference by Brooklyn general manager Sean Marks.
"With Kevin, I think what we're going to say is the expectations are that he'll be out for the year," said Marks. "I've been excited to see, I think we all have, how he's approached this rehab, which has been great, very refreshing and energizing for the whole group. But at the end of the day, this is a long-term plan here. This was never about this next season. This is about getting an elite athlete back to elite physical shape on the court, whatever that takes ... It's obvious he wants to play but there's more at stake here."
Marks added that Durant's rehabilitation has been going well. The typical recovery time for a ruptured Achilles is between 9-12 months. Durant suffered his injury on June 10, so the soonest he would likely be able to return would somewhere near the end of the season.
Despite the expectation that he won't play, Marks did say that "those things can change."
Still, it's unlikely that the Nets will rush back a player who they have committed so much money to and who is returning from a serious injury.
Thus, in 2019 the Nets will be a team led by Kyrie Irving, who also joined this summer. Marks said Irving has been in the gym "religiously" lately, but that he took an elbow in practice earlier in the day. Still, the mercurial point guard is expected to be okay.
Marks was also asked about what expectations will be for the team this year.
"Pretty high. I don't know that all the guys we signed in the offseason are coming here for mediocrity. That's not part of it. This is why we went in. That's why ownership showed the ability to get behind us and support the vision we've outlined."
