It appears a long-shot for now, but there is a slim chance that the Brooklyn Nets' freshly acquired superstar, Kevin Durant, will be able to suit up midway into the NBA Season 2019-20. It all depends, however, on how quick the two-time Finals MVP can recover from his injury.
Despite nursing a calf injury as his former team, the Golden State Warriors faced the Toronto Raptors in the 2019 NBA Finals, KD returned to the series and suffered a torn Achilles. The Warriors lost, and Durant will be forced to undergo rehab. It is believed his type of injury would take one year to fully heal, meaning Durant will have to sit out the coming NBA season.
But there have been precedents of NBA stars defying the medical norm. One good example was Kobe Bryant, who had the same case but was successful in cutting the whole process of healing, rehabilitation, and full recovery by four months.
Bryant, according to NBC Sports, returned to the Los Angeles Lakers after eight months and he had the same injury as KD. If Durant can do the same in nine months, then the possibility is there that can help out the Nets campaign to an NBA title.
The latest update on KD came from the Nets point guard Spencer Dinwiddie, who indicated that "KD is taking the rehab process ultra-serious."
"He wants to come back as soon as it's appropriate and healthy and the right decision for him, and then also subsequently that would also be the right decision for us ... So we're ready for him to come back whenever he wants to and whenever he's ready to do so, and we know that he's going to be a phenomenal major piece of our roster," Bleacher Report reported Dinwiddie.
Pundits do agree that KD regaining his old form soon will be game-changer not only for the Nets but for the NBA as a whole. Durant, after all, showed in the past few seasons that he was among the best. He won two NBA rings in two successive seasons and emerged as the Finals MVP on both occasions.
Had Durant stayed healthy last season, it might have been a different story when the ailing GSW crew was dealing with the Kawhi Leonard-led Raptors. It was not remote that the GSW could have scored a three-peat and it could have been another MVP honor for Durant.
There is no solid sign at the moment that Durant will return to the Brooklyn Nets, but if that happens, the team will certainly improve from being interesting, as KD will have Kyrie Irving as another All-Star teammate, to a championship contender, according to Bleacher Report.
