Thursday 14 May 2020 07:53, UK
Kevin Durant’s manager and business partner, Rich Kleiman, has said he does not anticipate the 10-time All-Star debuting for the Brooklyn Nets if the 2019-20 season resumes in July.
Speaking during an appearance on SiriusXM Radio, Kleiman said: "From my standpoint, no, I think it's unrealistic," Kleiman said, when asked about Durant's potential return. "That's just my view on it."
"Again, we haven't gone deep into conversation about it because of how unrealistic it all seems to me. And it's also hard to even discuss [the matter of Durant returning] in a real serious manner without any information on the season.
"[There is] such uncertainty day to day - as we all [feel], outside of just the NBA - that the whole thing just feels too unrealistic from my standpoint."
In an interview earlier this month, Nets general manager Sean Marks was not closing the door on Durant suiting up in 2019-20, but Kleiman's comments suggest the player will not be actively pushing to play when the season restarts.
Durant, who signed a four-year, $140m deal with Brooklyn last July, understandably wants to proceed cautiously with his recovery from the surgery he required for his right Achilles' tendon.
Before the league-wide shutdown in March, Durant had progressed to scrimmaging informally in 3-on-3 settings, so he might be cleared to advance to a more strenuous form of practice when the season resumes, even if playing in games is not being seriously entertained.
If the 2020-21 season begins in December, Durant would be nearly a year and a half removed from Achilles surgery, which should aid his chances of quickly recapturing his All-Star form.
