Woj: Warriors, Durant's inner circle bracing for tough news on knee injury

[colincb]

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/sources-warriors-durants-inner-circle-bracing-for-tough-news-on-knee-injury-085809477.html

The Golden State Warriors are bracing for the possibility that All-Star forward Kevin Durant could be lost for the rest of the regular season – or perhaps longer – with a left knee injury, league sources told The Vertical.

Durant underwent an MRI late Tuesday night to survey the knee damage and team officials and members of Durant’s inner circle were expressing fear early Wednesday morning that the severity of Durant’s injury could preclude a return to the Warriors lineup before the start of the Western Conference playoffs in six weeks, league sources told The Vertical.

Some close to Durant feared the damage could sideline him even longer, league sources said.

Nevertheless, doctors were evaluating the test results and the Warriors expected to make a public announcement later on Wednesday.

Durant suffered what the Warriors termed a hyper-extended left knee in the first quarter of Tuesday night’s loss to the Washington Wizards. Golden State center Zaza Pachulia lost his balance and fell into Durant’s left knee.

Durant – a four-time NBA scoring champion – has been the Warriors’ top scorer this season, averaging 25.8 points a game. He signed a free agent deal with Golden State in July, leaving Oklahoma City after spending nine years with the organization that drafted him. Golden State has the NBA’s best record at 50-10.

Durant signed a two-year deal that included a player option that he expected to exercise to become a free agent again in July. Durant has consistently indicated that he expected to re-sign on a longer-term deal with Golden State this summer.

Posted 4am EST, so they might already have a decent idea. They're screwed if he's out and the Cavs are formidable even with him in.

[Ilikesports17]

you can get a pretty decent diagnosis on ACL and MCL injuries without an MRI. Not that Ive got a [dang] clue if thats what happened, but if they think its bad, its probably bad.

[cons]

Karma.
He should've come here and competed instead of trying to coast to a title by latching on to a championship team.
No one outside of the Bay Area will shed any tears for him.

[Roy H.]

The Warriors just committed signing Matt Barnes for the rest of the season, deciding not to sign Jose Calderon*. They must think it's serious.

* Technically the Warriors are signing Calderon and immediately releasing him, so at least he gets paid.

[Casperian]

Holy Smokes!

Love, Lowry, Durant...

The playoffs seem wide open, all of a sudden.

[Roy H.]

Holy Smokes!

Love, Lowry, Durant...

The playoffs seem wide open, all of a sudden.

Wide open for a repeat.

[adam8]

Holy Smokes!

Love, Lowry, Durant...

The playoffs seem wide open, all of a sudden.

I know right for a second I though what if this happened before the trade deadline would Danny have reacted(overreacted) and tried to go for it this year? My guess would still be no I think he likes the team and wants to be competitive for years and years but it would have still been enticing.

[Casperian]

nvm, I should've double-checked the pic before I posted

[max215]

Well now I wish we had done something at the deadline .

[Big333223]

If this extends into the playoffs, the Warriors have something to worry about. Not just offensively, either. Durant's defensive versatility has been integral to their success this season. I don't know who steps up for them. Washed up Matt Barnes isn't going to cut it.

[GratefulCs]

Well now I wish we had done something at the deadline .

ya, but you can't bank on injuries


I'm still happy we didn't trade the big assets

[dreamgreen]

Karma.
He should've come here and competed instead of trying to coast to a title by latching on to a championship team.
No one outside of the Bay Area will shed any tears for him.

Agreed. I like KD and the Warriors but I didn't like that move at all.

[hpantazo]

If it ends up being a torn acl , after having missed about a season with a broken foot, does he still get a full max deal this summer?

[adam8]

If it ends up being a torn acl , after having missed about a season with a broken foot, does he still get a full max deal this summer?

My guess would be he would use his player option for next year before trying to sign a max deal the following summer. Interesting question though, his game isn't as based off athleticism as some super stars, he will always be 7 feet tall with long arms as long as that jumper comes back no reason he wouldn't get the max.

[Roy H.]

If it ends up being a torn acl , after having missed about a season with a broken foot, does he still get a full max deal this summer?

He still gets the full max. Healthy, he's probably "worth" $50+ million per season. Injured, maybe his true value is closer to the actual max. He will get the max, though, either way.

At the same time, with injury issues he'd be stupid to play on a one year deal.