Kevin Durant down and out second quarter with an interesting injury!
Kevin Durant down and out second quarter with an interesting injury! I do not want to point out the obvious, but… I am going to do just that. As the Nets are slowly dying, however, they find the right players at the right time. Like the paring of Patty Mills and James Harden, and then some other pairings such as the fresh Kyrie Irving and the other two Big 3 players.
From Kyrie to Aldridge, these Nets’ players are just getting stung by the injury plague. Durant, again, is getting poisoned as he left the second quarter of tonight’s game against the Pelicans with a knee injury. It is a left knee strain that will have further testing done through an MRI soon.
Good news for the Nets, during the Pelicans game when he checked out it was announced by Brooklyn’s social media team; but what makes this good news? When it came out the Nets were steamrolling past the Pelicans 69-41. Talk about dominance – faith instilled in the coaches by the other players of Brooklyn.
Durant, before leaving the game, had 12 points and 3 rebounds. Let’s hope this is nothing big in the recovery time table as if it is… then be prepared New York.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Phoenix Suns and Kevin Durant will not come together to finalize an extension before Monday’s deadline.
If Durant were to sign before the deadline, it would be only for a year. However, if he waits until 2025, he can sign an extension of up to two years.
For the record, Durant has two seasons left on his current contract. The 36-year-old will make $51.1 million this season and $54.7 million the following season. In 2026-27, if no extension is signed, he will be an unrestricted free agent.
Per Shams, both Phoenix and Durant prefer the superstar to sign the two-year extension worth $124 million.
The Phoenix Suns CEO, Josh Bartelstein, was asked about their relationship with Kevin Durant and whether the fans could expect an extension to be signed. As things go, the answers he provided should encourage Suns fans.
For context, Durant can sign a one-year, $59.7 million extension before October 21st. He became eligible to sign it on July 12th.
The 35-year-old veteran’s current contract (four years, $194 million) expires in 2025-26. If he were to sign the extension, then it would take him through 2026-27.
Here is what Bartelstein said regarding the questions:
“The most important thing is Kevin loves being here, and we love having Kevin here,” Bartelstein said in an interview with The Arizona Republic’s Duane Rankin.
“He’s focused on the Olympics, but we’re always having dialogue. The relationship is what matters the most. The relationship is in a great spot. I talk to (Durant’s agent) Rich Kleiman, who works with Kevin, all the time. Conversations are great not just on extension stuff, but on all things that have been going on.”
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.