The NBA world was shocked on Monday night after Kevin Durant went down with an Achilles injury in Game 5 of the NBA finals.
Durant, who was making his return to the court after missing nine games with a calf-injury, exited the Warriors' 106-105 win in the second quarter. He did not return and after the game, Golden State president of basketball operations Bob Myers said Durant suffered an Achilles injury that was different than his earlier calf-injury.
We still don't have a confirmation regarding the severity of Durant's injury, but ESPN's Ramona Shelburne and Adrian Wojnarowski reported an MRI will show it is likely a torn right Achilles tendon.
Durant is expected to be one of the top free agents this summer. However, his injury will surely play a role in possible free agency discussions. Or will it?
NBA front office insider Bobby Marks appeared on ESPN's Get Up! on Tuesday and noted that the free-agent market for the Golden State star doesn't figure to change much despite the injury he suffered during the Golden State Warriors' Game 5 victory Monday night.
Durant's injury could cost him the entire 2019-20 season, but according to Marks, he spoke with three teams and all were willing to sign KD in free agency.
"I said ... If you had cap space, would you go out and sign Kevin Durant knowing that he will likely be out maybe the whole year? And the resounding answer was 'yes,'" Marks said.
"Each of the teams also said that they wouldn't even put any injury language in there for maybe years three and four to protect. So, yes, there will be a marketplace for Kevin Durant this summer, either with a team for four years, $141 million dollars or even back in Golden State here."
The Clippers, Nets and Knicks all have their eyes set on making a huge splash in free agency, the Knicks and Nets especially who may both attempt to pair KD and Kyrie together, but even the Clippers have hefty aspirations of adding both Kawhi Leonard and Durant.
KD's injury sent shockwaves through the NBA and will likely affect the league for the upcoming year and beyond. We wish KD a hasty and safe recovery process and we're excited to see what the upcoming free agency period will bring him.
