According to multiple reports and Steve Kerr, Kevin Durant will remain on Team USA despite the lingering calf injury and will not be replaced. It will not be a Kawhi Leonard-type situation where fans see Derrick White replace him.
The 35-year-old was held out of Monday’s final exhibition game against Germany, and new reports suggest Durant will also be held out of Sunday’s game against Serbia.
Per ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, Team USA will most likely play without Durant. He said Kerr met with him on Monday and decided he needed more time to recover from his strained calf.
“I think [Team USA] gonna be playing Serbia without Kevin Durant… Steve Kerr met with him today and they decided he needs more time with that strained calf.”
However, despite his not playing, Kerr has remained faithful to the possibility of him being able to play for the United States.
“There’s no thought of replacing Kevin,” Kerr said. “I was hoping he would get a game in here, but it just didn’t work out that way.”
This is an ongoing situation, with updates potentially coming throughout this week heading into Sunday’s match against Nikola Jokic and Serbia.
