Kevin Durant suffered the worst luck right before his first Phoenix home game, and as it stands, the former league MVP has no timetable to return.
Durant slipped during warm ups on March 9 and sprained his right ankle. The team announced he would be re-evaluated in three weeks on March 10.
ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne has since explained that the Suns are in no rush at all to bring 13-time All-Star Durant back and the team will be playing it safe.
“This injury is a significant injury, but there’s also this sense from the Suns that they’re not worried about needing time for them to gel,” Shelburne said.
“He is Kevin Durant, and he’s played with Devin Booker on Team USA, he’s played with Chris Paul in other situations. … There’s a sense that they’re just being very cautious. … I think with his injury history and especially lower leg injuries, that is why you are extra careful here to get him feeling as good as he can before the playoffs. But the sense I have is that if he comes back, it’ll be toward the end of the regular season with just a couple of games left.”
Suns president of basketball operations and general manager James Jones assured the good people of Arizona that Durant’s injury isn’t one to be concerned about.
“If the playoffs started today, he’d be out there,” Jones told the Arizona Republic. “He’d be struggling a little bit.”
The Suns have 15 regular season games remaining and are in fourth seed in the West with a 37-30 record, so having Durant back for playoffs will be a massive boost.