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

[Son Goku 25]

Warriors Fo is to blame, pretty selfish of them, that's why you understand where kawhi is coming from and I think Kawhi will appreciate raptors org even more for this.

[durka]

Pretty sure that nobody thought that this would happen.

What is more relevant is the question of how likely was it that something like this COULD happen based on the circumstances, and whether or not KD himself was made aware of the actual risk before deciding to play.

Would he have risked it if he knew it was even a 5% chance or higher?

There is still too much we don't know, so we can't blame GSW but likewise can't absolve them either.

Looking forward to hearing about what GSW really did and did not know, and more importantly what KD was told regarding his medical condition.

if nobody thought this would happen there won't be multiple analysis telling him not to play. Or he would have suited up for game 4. it 100% happened and we have to assume it was a major risk going into the game.

If someone gets struck by lightning, that does not mean it was a major risk to happen, even if it ultimately happens. There is no need to assume anything, and the truth will eventually come out as more info is released.

This isnt like getting struck by lightning. It`s more like drunk driving.

[Guest202]

If he's on year 1 of a $220M extension there's a literal 0% chance he's allowed to play. He was viewed as disposable throw-away livestock by shady obviously racist owners because they owed him $0 (and they knew he was leaving). Period, point blank. He needs to sue. He was exploited and this was all choreographed over 4 weeks. I've even heard obvious GSW PR flacks calling into national radio stations with pro-GSW talking points. This should lead to not only a successful civil lawsuit, possibly the biggest judgment for a single player in history, but Silver needs to drop the hammer on GSW as well.

[RRyder823]

If he's on year 1 of a $220M extension there's a literal 0% chance he's allowed to play. He was viewed as disposable throw-away livestock by shady obviously racist owners because they owed him $0 (and they knew he was leaving). Period, point blank. He needs to sue. He was exploited and this was all choreographed over 4 weeks. I've even heard obvious GSW PR flacks calling into national radio stations with pro-GSW talking points. This should lead to not only a successful civil lawsuit, possibly the biggest judgment for a single player in history, but Silver needs to drop the hammer on GSW as well.

I had a long response typed out but then just decided to go with..... Lol

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[enigmatics]

Jalen Rose said one of the practice did not go well, people should have listened to him .

Raja Bell said the same thing watching him.

Thanks I did not know that. The sports shows should have him on for his perspective on what he saw.

He has a show with former ESPN radio host Danny Kanell over on CBS.

Watch on YouTube

[13th Man]

Agree with Jalen 100%!

KD caved to peer pressure from the organization, from the media.

The Warriors do not care at all about KD, they only care about the bottom dollar and a championship.

[Drygon]

Wanda Durant on Kevin Durant: "I was excited for him because I know how much he loves the game and I know he’s been injured before, so I knew he wouldn’t jeopardize himself. So when he told me he was ready to play I said OK.”

https://streamable.com/3rfmm

[Chandan]

if nobody thought this would happen there won't be multiple analysis telling him not to play. Or he would have suited up for game 4. it 100% happened and we have to assume it was a major risk going into the game.

If someone gets struck by lightning, that does not mean it was a major risk to happen, even if it ultimately happens. There is no need to assume anything, and the truth will eventually come out as more info is released.

This isnt like getting struck by lightning. It`s more like drunk driving.

it's more like letting someone walk outside with a metal helmet during a lightning storm

[hongdayuan]

Wanda Durant on Kevin Durant: "I was excited for him because I know how much he loves the game and I know he’s been injured before, so I knew he wouldn’t jeopardize himself. So when he told me he was ready to play I said OK.”

https://streamable.com/3rfmm

Wanda is always very well-spoken and I really respect her for that. Gives you a different perspective on what the players family go through when the internet and media go at the player.

Ps. She decided to shorten Kyle Lowry and just called him Ky-ry, lol

[niQ]

Wanda Durant on Kevin Durant: "I was excited for him because I know how much he loves the game and I know he’s been injured before, so I knew he wouldn’t jeopardize himself. So when he told me he was ready to play I said OK.”

https://streamable.com/3rfmm

Wanda is always very well-spoken and I really respect her for that. Gives you a different perspective on what the players family go through when the internet and media go at the player.

Ps. She decided to shorten Kyle Lowry and just called him Ky-ry, lol

Or was it a Freudian slip for whats to come...

[Rock Hardy]

Wow! So many posters in the thread claiming Warriors were frustrated with KD cited this exact thing happening. I can't believe it did. I hope all the people bad-mouthing KD in that thread feel stupid now.

[ken6199]

49ers cornerback Richard Sherman doesn’t think Warriors’ Kevin Durant tore his Achilles, “He probably strained his Achilles. If he tore it he wouldn’t be able to flex that ankle.”

https://clutchpoints.com/49ers-news-richard-sherman-doesnt-think-warriors-kevin-durant-tore-his-achilles/

It’s a take we must listen to since he tore his Achilles and would know better than most anyone.

I still think he tore it but it’s strange nothing was reported yesterday. A MRI should be a quick confirmation, but something else is going on here.

A lot is going on at the background. 20 people from different places are consulting each other, making phone calls, on the table, under the table, cooperating, arguing, debating, negotiating. What do we do now? What do we say to the public? Everyone is trying to come up the best version of story they can to not look bad and face least consequences. The PR world we live in.

The thing is, you cannot lie about medical records that's required by the league.

[OfficialRef]

bob myers with the crocodile tears LOL.

Durant needs to leave that scumbag organization. Pretty clear he got pressured from everyone there to play.

[Guest202]

The most shady thing, to me, is that GSW didn't immediately come out and offer KD his $220M extension. Because they won't be. They don't care. These are greedy soulless sociopaths.

[Basileus777]

The most shady thing, to me, is that GSW didn't immediately come out and offer KD his $220M extension. Because they won't be. They don't care. These are greedy soulless sociopaths.

They can't. Durant hasn't opted out yet.

[Crunch 99]

[Tom Habestroh] I talked to NBA trainers/medical/performance professionals last night to get a sense of KD’s injury, what led to it and whether 12 of 14 minutes seemed too many. They were just as confused as we all were

“This,” one longtime NBA trainer said, “is just unheard of.”

“Just seems unacceptable,” said one longtime director of performance. “Doesn’t make any sense.”

Said another rival training staff member: “They may have said, once the leg is warm, ride it. But I can’t imagine (Durant) did enough work to determine 12 minutes out of 14 was appropriate.”

You don’t have to have a medical degree to see how a calf strain and an Achilles injury to the same leg may be related. Jeff Stotts, a certified athletic trainer and operator of injury tracker InStreetClothes.com, explained earlier this month why calf strains are so tricky.

“The calf is not an isolated muscle but a dynamic muscle complex,” Stotts wrote. “Playing through a strained calf can increase the chances of a secondary injury occurring somewhere else along the kinetic chain. The hamstring muscle group is particularly susceptible to injury when the calf is limited due to their synergistic relationship.”

https://www.nbcsports.com/philadelphia/nba-insider-tom-haberstroh/kevin-durants-achilles-casts-cloud-over-warriors-present-and-future

I am not a medical professional, but this above post makes a lot of sense to me.

But Clyde 21 has repeatedly reported to us that Durant was not only cleared to play by the Warriors organization, but also cleared to play by Durant's own team of people, and I assume Durant's own team included medical professionals as well. So until we get further clarification, I am not going to assume that there was anything malicious, uncaring or negligent on the part of the Warriors' organization. Maybe a prognosis from multiple doctors simply did not play out as expected. Doctors are far from perfect.

[zhenyasj]

If he's on year 1 of a $220M extension there's a literal 0% chance he's allowed to play. He was viewed as disposable throw-away livestock by shady obviously racist owners because they owed him $0 (and they knew he was leaving). Period, point blank. He needs to sue. He was exploited and this was all choreographed over 4 weeks. I've even heard obvious GSW PR flacks calling into national radio stations with pro-GSW talking points. This should lead to not only a successful civil lawsuit, possibly the biggest judgment for a single player in history, but Silver needs to drop the hammer on GSW as well.

LOL. How come he wasn't trotted out in game 3 or game 4 if he's "livestock" and was exploited. Also explain how the best player in the league can be exploited when he has his own infrastructure around him to make sure that his interests come first. And if KD knew he is off to NY, how can he be pressured into playing by an organization he's leaving? Btw, Warriors still owe him $31 million if he opts in and decides to rehab on their time, which isn't $0. They will also offer him the max as soon as free agency starts.

This is not 50s where players had no choice; superstars run the league, they get coaches hired and fired, they pick their own teams, they manage their own brands.

[HotTubMike]

At age 32 post achilles he won't be top 20 anymore. This isn't an ACL.

That's a different argument than "nobody is giving him a max" - there are 20 - 25 franchises out there without a superstar player paying 10's of millions to scrubs. Most never have a shot at a player of KD's caliber. I bet a number of them would roll the dice on KD.

It's pretty unprecedented in the history of sports that a team other than the current one would sign a free agent to do nothing for 1 - 1 1/2 years off the back of a career altering injury. Especially at 31. If Durant was 24 we might be having a different conversation. Or if it was a well known injury that players have recovered from fully, ACL/MCL, Jones Fracture, femoral fracture, etc..

That being said I agree with you that there are some awful front offices in this league. But why would KD want to take a 4 year max from the Magic let's say. Sit in Orlando and do nothing for a year. Come back in 2020-21 and what? I understand it's more money, but I think it's more likely Golden State gives him another 1+1 if he opts in. Then he's got $32 million in his pocket next year, and they are probably feeling pretty crappy about playing him. Also GSW is capped out whether KD leaves, retires or opts in ... so they are highly incentivized to retain him because they can't replace even his empty seat next year. Also, if he opts in they will get an injury exception of some kind, probably better than even Gordan Haywards one.

Apparently everyone who was in on him before still wants to try and throw the max at him...

https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/254161/Warriors-Knicks-Nets-Lakers-Clippers-Still-Expected-To-Be-All-In-On-Kevin-Durant

[OGSactownballer]

If he's on year 1 of a $220M extension there's a literal 0% chance he's allowed to play. He was viewed as disposable throw-away livestock by shady obviously racist owners because they owed him $0 (and they knew he was leaving). Period, point blank. He needs to sue. He was exploited and this was all choreographed over 4 weeks. I've even heard obvious GSW PR flacks calling into national radio stations with pro-GSW talking points. This should lead to not only a successful civil lawsuit, possibly the biggest judgment for a single player in history, but Silver needs to drop the hammer on GSW as well.

Good luck with all that.

[zshawn10]

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