Kevin Durant Says He Likely Would Have Skipped NBA Restart

75756A5E-120A-4932-810C-2FD980DB785E

Kevin Durant's mending heel injury will sideline him for the balance of the NBA season when it resumes next month at Disney World.

But in addition to the torn Achilles that the former NBA MVP suffered in last year's playoffs, he was also among several Nets player who tested positive for coronavirus in March.

The plan all along has been for Durant to skip the entire 2019-20 season while rehabbing the torn tendon, but he recently acknowledged he probably wouldn't have played in Orlando even if he were healthy.

"I feel, me right now, I probably wouldn't have played because the unknown going into that situation looks crazy right now, seeing so many new cases," Durant told the Dawg Talk podcast, hosted by former Georgetown basketball teammates Austin Freeman and Chris Wright. "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."

However, Durant said he doesn't object to anyone else playing.

"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 feel safe, I'm with them too. I'm all about what the group wants, and if it's good for the betterment of the whole group, then I'm cool with it. But I probably would have chilled.

"Obviously I would have talked to my teammates, and consulted with my guys, and actually really gone over it for the last month and a half, but me, my gut was telling me, 'No.' I probably wouldn't want to go down there, especially after three months off."

The Nets were among the nine Eastern Conference teams chosen to participate in the restart, scheduled for late July, but it has been consistently reported Durant would not play owing to the Achilles injury.

Meanwhile the terms of the return agreement stipulate players who don't want to play may opt out of the restart, though they won't be paid. So far a handful of players will reportedly be sitting out for a variety of reasons.