Kevin Durant rejoined his Team USA teammates in practice on Friday after being sidelined by a lingering calf injury. According to reports, there was some hope that the Phoenix Suns superstar would be ready to play either on Saturday against South Sudan or on Monday against Germany.
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Unfortunately, Durant ended up missing both games after the team decided to err on the side of caution. With all five of Team USA’s tune-up games now in the books, questions are being raised as to whether or not KD will actually be ready for the Olympics.
Team USA: Kevin Durant Will Remain on Roster
Technically, national team head coach Steve Kerr has until Saturday to decide whether or not Durant will be on Team USA’s final roster for the Olympic tournament. According to ESPN insider Brian Windhorst, Kerr has no plans of bringing in a replacement player for KD.
“I think they are gonna be playing Serbia without Durant,” Windhorst said. “… Steve Kerr met with him today and they decided he needs more time with that strained calf… They could fly in a replacement [for KD], that’s not gonna happen.”
As Windhorst suggested, it appears that Durant won’t be ready in time for the USA’s opener against Nikola Jokic and Serbia on Sunday. Nevertheless, Kerr seems adamant that he would rather have a relatively healthy Durant on his roster than replace him with another NBA superstar.
Whether or not KD will be able to play in Team USA’s second game of the group stage, which will be on Wednesday against South Sudan, remains to be seen.
