Brooklyn Nets’ superstar Kevin Durant recently decided to put an end to speculations he could return this season. In a chat with ESPN’s The Undefeated, Durant confirmed that he wouldn’t play in 2019/20 even though the end of the season was pushed back several months due to the coronavirus.
Durant was ruled out for the entire season due to an Achilles tendon injury he suffered during the 2019 NBA Finals. But because the season will now extend into fall due to the pandemic, many believed that the 31-year-old forward will be ready to return to court and help the Nets make a deep playoff run.
However, although Durant confirmed that his recovery is going as planned, he doesn’t feel ready to handle the intensity of competitive basketball. “It’s just best for me to wait,” Durant said. “I don’t think I’m ready to play that type of intensity right now in the next month. It gives me more time to get ready for next season and the rest of my career.”
Durant confirms that he had already made the decision not to return until 2020/21 and intends to see it through despite the changing circumstances.
“My season is over. I don’t plan on playing at all,” he added. “We decided last summer when it first happened that I was just going to wait until the following season. I had no plans of playing at all this season.”
Many believe that Kevin Durant is making the right move considering that the Nets wouldn’t be a contender at the moment anyway, even with him on the court. Brooklyn doesn’t have a permanent head coach after Kenny Atkinson was released earlier this year, while their second All-Star player Kyrie Irving is out with a knee injury.
In the meantime, Durant decided to use his time away from basketball to explore business opportunities. One of them was investing in soccer, as he recently purchased a stake in MLS side Philadelphia Union.
