Easy Money Slim Reaper - The Official Kevin Durant Thread

[Kaiser30]

I'm looking so much forward to the day Kevin effing Durant is back on the floor wearing a Brooklyn Nets jersey.

Getting him back to 100% will be a huge challenge for the performance staff but Marks will definitely make sure to provide him the best help as possible during his recovery. KD will be fine but he should take his time. No need to rush things back after what happened in the finals. Still a bummer though that KD and Kyrie where apparently already focussed on Brooklyn before the injury.

[Paradise]

The Warriors will retire his jersey in the future.

Read on Twitter

[xfactor]

Congratulations Net's fans. You have a great player, and now a bigger spotlight. Get ready.

[therealbig3]

Scared as hell because of his injury, really think there's a strong chance he'll never be the same player again. I agree though that a 75-80% Kevin Durant is still better than 90% of the league and would make us legit contenders next year.

It's just I don't know if he'll get there. The benefits though is that we are now relevant around the league from a free agency perspective...now that we got one pre-eminent superstar to join us, I think we'll be MUCH more of a destination for the next crop of star free agents, and robbing the Knicks of their chance in the spotlight, AGAIN, is pretty sweet.

I'm just not gonna expect big things out of our team during the next few years until I actually see it for real, because I just don't know about this Achilles injury. Going after Kawhi or Butler to pair with Kyrie would have been my move to be honest, but it looks like neither of them really considered us anyway.

[NetsWorld]

Scared as hell because of his injury, really think there's a strong chance he'll never be the same player again. I agree though that a 75-80% Kevin Durant is still better than 90% of the league and would make us legit contenders next year.

It's just I don't know if he'll get there. The benefits though is that we are now relevant around the league from a free agency perspective...now that we got one pre-eminent superstar to join us, I think we'll be MUCH more of a destination for the next crop of star free agents, and robbing the Knicks of their chance in the spotlight, AGAIN, is pretty sweet.

I'm just not gonna expect big things out of our team during the next few years until I actually see it for real, because I just don't know about this Achilles injury. Going after Kawhi or Butler to pair with Kyrie would have been my move to be honest, but it looks like neither of them really considered us anyway.

I think he will be fine, and KD is the type of player that seems to adjust and adapt with age. Brooklyn is going to be able to add other players via trade and future free agencies; who does not want to play with KD and Kyrie and the splash Brooklyn is making.

[MrDollarBills]

was his Achilles tear in his left leg or his right leg?

[Prokorov]

was his Achilles tear in his left leg or his right leg?

right leg...

[MrDollarBills]

was his Achilles tear in his left leg or his right leg?

right leg...

Which isn't his dominant leg if he's right handed.

[NyCeEvO]

was his Achilles tear in his left leg or his right leg?

right leg...

Which isn't his dominant leg if he's right handed.

Doesn’t automatically work like that. Plenty of right-handed people lead with their right leg. I did for years until I actively trained myself not to do so, but even after that it’s still not automatic.

If we’re counting on whether the injured leg is the one used to lead his gathers for powering up for an explosive move to the rim, he’s done.

[MrDollarBills]

right leg...

Which isn't his dominant leg if he's right handed.

Doesn’t automatically work like that. Plenty of right-handed people lead with their right leg. I did for years until I actively trained myself not to do so, but even after that it’s still not automatic.

If we’re counting on whether the injured leg is the one used to lead his gathers for powering up for an explosive move to the rim, he’s done.

I'm thinking in terms of jumping, he would use left leg to push off.

I'm just trying to think about what parts of his game would be truly diminished due to his injury.

[Paradise]

Watch on YouTube

[Paradise]

Read on Twitter

[MrDollarBills]

Read on Twitter

He chose wisely. He's in good hands here.

I'm still in disbelief that this guy is on our team.

[JoseRizal]

Read on Twitter

He chose wisely. He's in good hands here.

I'm still in disbelief that this guy is on our team.

Almost a week has past and I’m still slapping my face in disbelief...

[DarkXaero]

As much as I always held hope that we could one day sign him (or other stars in FA), I still gotta admit that I was completely wrong about one thing: record doesn't matter in attracting FAs. I felt that it wouldn't have been a factor if we didn't win many games, but now I think that it most certainly was one of the deciding factors for these guys. If we hadn't made the playoffs this year, I don't think KD & Kyrie would be Nets right now. Because even though we were only sixth seed, and won just one game in our series, it still proved the credentials of our young guys, our coaching staff, and our organization. And that's perhaps the most appealing factor to these guys, who want a solid supporting cast around them, and go into a situation where they know that the supporting cast is capable, rather than just unproven potential.

And while the media right now is (sadly) more obsessed with the Knicks' failure rather than Nets' success, I think that the whole narrative of "KD would have picked the Knicks if he didn't get injured" is wrong. I think it was decided some time ago by both of them that they'll play in Brooklyn, and it may have not been 100% certain on KD's side until the start of free agency, but I do think this was the case. I think the much bigger factor would have been if the Knicks landed Zion, that could have changed everything. With time, hopefully this info will come out, and the media can stop talking about that narrative.

[kamaze]

Scared as hell because of his injury, really think there's a strong chance he'll never be the same player again. I agree though that a 75-80% Kevin Durant is still better than 90% of the league and would make us legit contenders next year.

It's just I don't know if he'll get there. The benefits though is that we are now relevant around the league from a free agency perspective...now that we got one pre-eminent superstar to join us, I think we'll be MUCH more of a destination for the next crop of star free agents, and robbing the Knicks of their chance in the spotlight, AGAIN, is pretty sweet.

I'm just not gonna expect big things out of our team during the next few years until I actually see it for real, because I just don't know about this Achilles injury. Going after Kawhi or Butler to pair with Kyrie would have been my move to be honest, but it looks like neither of them really considered us anyway.

It's better to keep your expectations low
that way they can be exceeded. I've got the glass half empty mentality.

GO BROOKLYN NETS!

[kamaze]

So is there any belief that Durant will play toward the end of this season? Or will Nets just hold him out the entire year?

Obviously there's no certainty and no 2 players are alike, but at age 34 Kobe came back in 9 months. Cousins is probably 100 pounds heavier than Durant (which makes it a harder rehab) and he came back in

12 months. He was doing drills in September (8 months) and I believe got cleared for practice in Oct/Nov. https://www.sfgate.com/warriors/article/DeMarcus-Cousins-could-begin-team-practice-with-13257826.php

Nobody knows how KD's rehab will go but I think the "out all of next year" talk right now is just to set expectations low. It wouldn't shock me if there are "KD starting to practice with the team" rumors in March/April (around 9-10 months).

good points man.

just need to be in wait and see mode this season. Don't rush him. I'm sure they gave him a full breakdown of their plan too.

I JUST CAN'T WAIT TO SEE HIM IN A NETS UNIFORM AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Be patient fans let him FULLY heal this season imagine if they let him play and he gets hurt again. I'm nervous about his health.

[LondonCeltics]

I really worry about his injury. I do fear that he has chosen the Nets as a retirement package you know.

[Keith Van Horn]

I really worry about his injury. I do fear that he has chosen the Nets as a retirement package you know.

we're all worried about his health. And there's a lot of reason to be concerned about his form when he returns.

Hoping to see timeline like this:

year 1 - sit entire season
year 2 - strict minutes restriction. 15-20 a game off the bench for half the season; 20-30 minutes through remainder
year 3 - 30+ minutes a game, starting
year 4 - same

I'm sure his athleticism will come back to an extent. Everyone is different in their recovery. Just can't say no to Durant with the injury.
A combo of Russell and Tobias Harris is great and might get you to the second round, but a combo of Irving and Durant (even at 80%) could win it all with the right pieces and management.

Forgot the pod I was listening to, but big comparison to how Durant will play in year 2 to what Dirk's post prime playstyle was like. I thought that was an interesting thought.

[Keith Van Horn]

These salty ass Knicks fans all over the place saying stuff like "you can have a broken KD". Guarantee if I went there and suggested they trade us Randle for KD they'd be all over it.