Kevin Durant Achilles Injury Mega-Thread (Keep discussion here, please)

[B-Ball Freak]

Prayers up KD, he's a soldier but the Warriors team doctors really **** up here.

Soldier?! KD will never be the same, see Kobe Bryant.KD is 30 turning 31 with alot of miles on his legs, this may be the end of his career as the best player in the NBA. There should be hell to pay for destroying someone's career while still on their prime by negligence and faulty diagnosis.

Yes...a soldier, as player and a competitor he was always gonna say "Yes, I can play" it was up to the Warriors medical staff to see his injury was serious enough to take it out of his hands and not clear him to play.

[zhenyasj]

word, from a knick to a laker fan, what he did was straight trash, he altered this dood's career, forever

Yeah, this. If Myers pressured Durant to play, Durant's camp needs to call this out. I understand that it was Durant's ultimate decision to play, but anyone pressuring should have their NBA career ended.

What makes it worse is that it actually isn’t ultimately Durant’s decision; it’s the coaching staff and medical team’s. Durant could have very well have begged them to play but ultimately is the coach and the medical team that has to give the go ahead. It’s why Chris Bosh,
despite desperately wanting to play, never played another NBA game after his blod clot diagnosis because everyone around him knew it could kill him. Obviously this injury isn’t on the same level but it highlights that the organization is responsible for who plays on the court.

Are you really comparing this to a blood clot that can kill a person? Seriously? KD was presented with facts by multiple doctors, not just team doctors, and made decision to play. **** happens.

[MeloRoseNoah]

Warriors risked Durants health for one meaningless win ... This just shows how much Warriors care about Durant.

Durant also risked his health for one huge win for his legacy. Let's not pretend the Warriors escorted him onto the court with armed guards ala The Longest Yard. This was a massive moment for him and the Warriors. Entirely possible somebody made a bad judgement call with all that hanging over them, but there was a huge upside to playing for Durant. What an opportunity to prove all the haters wrong and shut them up.

Of course not, but the Warrior Athletic fan club writers were publishing articles questioning KD, the Warriors staff were dodgy about when KD would return. There is ZERO chance this is the same narrative leading up to the injury if it was Steph.

Further even if not playing KD led to the Warriors losing the finals “not shutting up the haters” (by the way this is dumb), everyone that has any sense of following the NBA clearly recognizes that while a Raptors championship still counts (and should be celebrated), that the outcome would have been far different had the Warriors been healthy.

I think it’s completely reasonable to say that the Warriors staff (medical, front office, and coaching) messed this one up. I also think it’s completely reasonable to say that this same staff would have handled things different leading up to tonight had either Steph or Klay had the same “calf” injury that KD had against Houston.

The doctors didn’t mess this up. Any idiot with some medical knowledge would know the heightened risk of this event. KD and Myers made this decision together knowing the risks.

[sacking123]

Warriors risked Durants health for one meaningless win ... This just shows how much Warriors care about Durant.

Durant also risked his health for one huge win for his legacy. Let's not pretend the Warriors escorted him onto the court with armed guards ala The Longest Yard. This was a massive moment for him and the Warriors. Entirely possible somebody made a bad judgement call with all that hanging over them, but there was a huge upside to playing for Durant. What an opportunity to prove all the haters wrong and shut them up.

This is correct and I can't blame KD for wanting to go out there and play. I think all of us, well the real ballers that know he wanted to get back and help his team, were just hoping he was getting the right advice.
I'm of the opinion too that if the Warriors left it up to KD he was always going to play.
As I mentioned earlier I believe the Warriors need to investigate what went on here and why it happened, with both KD and Looney. I'm not saying there needs to be any disciplinary action or anything, I think whenever these things happen they need to be evaluated to prevent them happening again or helping assess future injuries.
Having said that, let's not forget they held Klay out for a game and he was seriously upset with them so there is history of them doing the right thing for the player etc.

[Anti Chalmers]

Can’t believe it. I hope it’s not career ending injury.

[BallSacBounce]

It’s amazing how much 12 minutes of basketball changes. Literally the most hated player in the NBA that I can ever recall now has everyone pulling for him. For a dude who just wants to be loved, and has been really bothered at the public sentiment of him, it’s a total turnaround.

He owns the Warriors right now. This situation is as big of a story as he wants it to be. He comes out and says “nah, I talked to everyone, al kinds of doctors, not just the teams, and they all said I was cool and I wanted to play” and it’s a non-story. He said he felt pressured and it’s franchise altering.

Then, during the same 12 minutes, he gets hurt, and the team and the fanbase that 80% of the country was pulling for looks horrible in a way people will still bring up 30 years from now.


I mean, every year you still hear about Philly fans booing and throwing snowballs at Santa Clause, and that happened 51 years ago, and is kind of funny. This wasn’t funny and no one is ever forgetting it. So much damage was done in 12 minuets, except to KD’s perception, which will be better than it’s been since Lebron went to the Heat and he resigned in OKC.

People wonder why we watch this stuff.

What sick and twisted ish is this? WTF happened?

[Saciid11]

Warriors risked Durants health for one meaningless win ... This just shows how much Warriors care about Durant.

Not sure how you can say one meaningless win when it keeps them alive for the ultimate prize in basketball but you do you.

Should be noted that this actually helps Durants legacy more then 3 more championships with GS would

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Alive for one more game, but even if they come back and win this title.. was it really worth Durant's health and career. This really looks bad for Warriors as organization.

[Winsome Gerbil]

Bob Myers and KD knew the risks. It’s on them for this career ending injury. It sucks but the NBA will move on.

Stop repeating that guys.

It will NOT BE CAREER ENDING.

We'll see on career altering. But he'll be back. Good chance even back as an All Star.

[Dn4sty]

word, from a knick to a laker fan, what he did was straight trash, he altered this dood's career, forever

Yeah, this. If Myers pressured Durant to play, Durant's camp needs to call this out. I understand that it was Durant's ultimate decision to play, but anyone pressuring should have their NBA career ended.

What makes it worse is that it actually isn’t ultimately Durant’s decision; it’s the coaching staff and medical team’s. Durant could have very well have begged them to play but ultimately is the coach and the medical team that has to give the go ahead. It’s why Chris Bosh,
despite desperately wanting to play, never played another NBA game after his blod clot diagnosis because everyone around him knew it could kill him. Obviously this injury isn’t on the same level but it highlights that the organization is responsible for who plays on the court.

^THIS^

In football every player that gets a concussion gets their helmet taken away by the staff. They do this because if they don’t, that player will be back in the field the next play.

Players will ALWAYS (well almost always) want to play. It’s up to the staff (medical, coaching, and front office) to keep them from it when it could seriously lead to further injury.

[MeloRoseNoah]

Bob Myers and KD knew the risks. It’s on them for this career ending injury. It sucks but the NBA will move on.

Stop repeating that guys.

It will NOT BE CAREER ENDING.

We'll see on career altering. But he'll be back. Good chance even back as an All Star.

Sure nothing is guaranteed but history isn’t on KD side. In medicine, we only care about relative possibility and this injury is as close as career ending as it can be when you look at the numbers.

[MartyConlonOnTheRun]

Unless Durant will be A-OK...Knicks no way, Scott Perry in charge now. MSG is no longer the graveyard for over the hill players.

No team will max him with an Achilles tear, that's freaking ludicrous.

Wes Matthews was "Maxed" before the cap explosion. Yes, 4 years ago teams gave Wes F-ing Matthews 17.5m a year 3 months after tearing his achilles. This guy was never an all-star or average above 16 points a game. (other teams offered him similar contracts)

I'm taking my chances on maxing KD over throwing 30m on a guy like Khris Middleton. There is too much cap space and not enough good players. Someone will take the risk.

Just won't be the Knicks...Scott Perry.

That's a little bit of a turnaround. Went from "Freaking Ludicrous" any team would max him to Well at least not the Knicks.....

[richboy]

Depends. They told him that this couldn't happen. Kerry said that and Windhorst reported that as well. That the worst thing could happen was he could hurt his calf. The fact he played just a few minutes and tore his Achilles says that was not true.

In terms of suing I think we have to consider first who would he file a lawsuit against. Durant a millionaire he not going to het a lawyer that only going to take his case if he thinks he is going to win. Nobody could tell you what a jury would say if it went that far. Perhaps they would settle

If I'm Adam Silver I'm in Golden State and I want to know exactly what has been happening. How did you go from nothing can happen but a calf strain to the worst injury a basketball player pretty much can have on the court. Superstars are what drives the league. Drives the ratings and really the value of the sport. The entire league was just hurt. Warriors have been telling people for days that if he does come back he can't get more injured. That going to put pressure on him to play.

[Winsome Gerbil]

Warriors risked Durants health for one meaningless win ... This just shows how much Warriors care about Durant.

Not sure how you can say one meaningless win when it keeps them alive for the ultimate prize in basketball but you do you.

Should be noted that this actually helps Durants legacy more then 3 more championships with GS would

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Alive for one more game, but even if they come back and win this title.. was it really worth Durant's health and career. This really looks bad for Warriors as organization.

cold hard truth? For the Golden State Warriors who were about to lose KD? It would be worth it from a purely selfish perspective. All upside to them if they win the title, no downside.

But of course they are humans too, and the wrongness of this event is always going to weigh heavily. If they DO come back and win it now, there is doubtless going to be a heavy dose of "win one for the cupcake" serving as major motivation.

[Guest202]

Durant also risked his health for one huge win for his legacy. Let's not pretend the Warriors escorted him onto the court with armed guards ala The Longest Yard. This was a massive moment for him and the Warriors. Entirely possible somebody made a bad judgement call with all that hanging over them, but there was a huge upside to playing for Durant. What an opportunity to prove all the haters wrong and shut them up.

Of course not, but the Warrior Athletic fan club writers were publishing articles questioning KD, the Warriors staff were dodgy about when KD would return. There is ZERO chance this is the same narrative leading up to the injury if it was Steph.

Further even if not playing KD led to the Warriors losing the finals “not shutting up the haters” (by the way this is dumb), everyone that has any sense of following the NBA clearly recognizes that while a Raptors championship still counts (and should be celebrated), that the outcome would have been far different had the Warriors been healthy.

I think it’s completely reasonable to say that the Warriors staff (medical, front office, and coaching) messed this one up. I also think it’s completely reasonable to say that this same staff would have handled things different leading up to tonight had either Steph or Klay had the same “calf” injury that KD had against Houston.

The doctors didn’t mess this up. Any idiot with some medical knowledge would know the heightened risk of this event. KD and Myers made this decision together knowing the risks.

There were zero risks to GSW. End of KD's contract -- and they all knew he is (was?) headed to the Knicks. Like how the Steelers wanted to run Le'Veon Bell into the ground during his final year on the books, what did they care what happened to his body, he wasn't going to be on their roster the next season. These owners and gms have ZERO compassion. Soulless bloodsuckers using and abusing anyone they can, putting on fake smiles for camera, and planting PR stories with their throne sniffing team reporters.

[LipSkinMatter]

Of course not, but the Warrior Athletic fan club writers were publishing articles questioning KD, the Warriors staff were dodgy about when KD would return. There is ZERO chance this is the same narrative leading up to the injury if it was Steph.

Further even if not playing KD led to the Warriors losing the finals “not shutting up the haters” (by the way this is dumb), everyone that has any sense of following the NBA clearly recognizes that while a Raptors championship still counts (and should be celebrated), that the outcome would have been far different had the Warriors been healthy.

I think it’s completely reasonable to say that the Warriors staff (medical, front office, and coaching) messed this one up. I also think it’s completely reasonable to say that this same staff would have handled things different leading up to tonight had either Steph or Klay had the same “calf” injury that KD had against Houston.

The doctors didn’t mess this up. Any idiot with some medical knowledge would know the heightened risk of this event. KD and Myers made this decision together knowing the risks.

There were zero risks to GSW. End of KD's contract. Like how the Steelers wanted to run Le'Veon Bell into the ground during his final year on the books, what did they care what happened to his body.

Doesn't he have a player option? He could come back and count for 30+ mil on their books even if he can't pay next season. So no, you are flat out wrong.

[lakerz12]

Bob Myers and KD knew the risks. It’s on them for this career ending injury. It sucks but the NBA will move on.

Username checks out

[MeloRoseNoah]

Yup, the Warriors always view KD as a hired mercenary. They don’t care about him.

It’s too bad that he bought the narrative about caring for him. KD will be lucky to get more the the mid level exception in FA this summer. It’s going to be an eyes popping moment.

I expect a lawsuit from KD against the Warriors organization very soon after this event. It’s going to be ugly.

[BallSacBounce]

Wes Matthews was "Maxed" before the cap explosion. Yes, 4 years ago teams gave Wes F-ing Matthews 17.5m a year 3 months after tearing his achilles. This guy was never an all-star or average above 16 points a game. (other teams offered him similar contracts)

I'm taking my chances on maxing KD over throwing 30m on a guy like Khris Middleton. There is too much cap space and not enough good players. Someone will take the risk.

Just won't be the Knicks...Scott Perry.

That's a little bit of a turnaround. Went from "Freaking Ludicrous" any team would max him to Well at least not the Knicks.....

Sorry, it's ludicrous, and DEFINITELY won't be the Knicks. Happy to clarify.

[sikma42]

I dont think so. His career is basically over and same questions still stand. Sad ending and we never got to see him actually lead a team

Funny I'm a KD fan now - he showed some real heart stepping out there and balling with that injury. Respect to him, he will never be the same but he deserves props for laying it on the line.

This helps KD's legacy IMO btw, no doubt about it.

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[Vlade Divac]

What is 200 millions KD is gonna lose compared to billions Warriors are gonna earn next year in Chase Center if they win this title. He is expandable and they demonstrated it by putting him in harms way. If there is any justice heads are gonna roll as they should.