Kevin Durant Return In 2020 NBA Season Not Realistic, Even If League Resumes During Summer

NBA owners and executives are preparing for the 2020 season to remain suspended until at least mid-June, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, because of the coronavirus pandemic. The possibility of a three-month hiatus has sparked speculation that Kevin Durant might be able to return for the playoffs.

Durant signed a four-year contract with the Brooklyn Nets in July shortly after he tore his Achilles in the 2019 NBA Finals. The superstar had been ruled out for the entire season, though that was when the 2020 NBA Finals were scheduled to conclude on June 21 at the latest.

Brooklyn is the No.7 seed in the Eastern Conference with a six-game lead over the No.9 seed Washington Wizards. The Nets are a virtual guarantee to reach the playoffs if the NBA resumes with its usual 16-team postseason.

Could Durant play for Brooklyn this season?

“Honestly, not very realistic from my standpoint and not even spoken about,” Rich Kleiman, Durant’s agent, told ESPN’s “Golic and Wingo” Monday when asked about the chances that his client might return this season.

“Honestly, not very realistic from my standpoint and not even spoken about.”

- Rich Kleiman on the chances his client, Kevin Durant returns this season with a long hiatus. pic.twitter.com/A0zVDzyWcH
— Golic and Wingo (@GolicAndWingo) March 16, 2020

“It feels like it clearly was not something that was in the cards prior to all this,” Kleiman said. “And now I think, just like the rest of the world, it’s hard to take anything more than day by day. But, again, I think that Kevin’s gonna figure out the space that he needs to be in to continue to rehab during this time. But even that is hard to answer at this point with the new kind of rules that were put in place last night.”

The NBA extended its ban on full team practices indefinitely Sunday night and told teams that players could travel out of market under certain conditions.

Kyrie Irving joined the Nets along with Durant last summer. He only played 20 games and underwent season-ending shoulder surgery a week before the season was suspended.

The season was suspended indefinitely Wednesday night when Utah Jazz center Ruby Gobert tested positive for COVID-19. Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell and Detroit Pistons forward Christian Wood have also tested positive for the coronavirus.