Team USA hoped to use the final warm-up games in London to give some playing time to Kevin Durant. This did not happen, but Steve Kerr made it clear that replacing him was “out of the question”.
This does not mean that the federation will rush his return. Because the American leaders are not alone in implementing the plan for “KD's” return, they are doing it with the Suns and his representatives.
“It's not just our staff, but Grant Hill, the CEO of USA Basketball, is in constant contact with the people who are involved with Kevin and with the Suns.”, explains Steve Kerr. “It’s not going to be like we go out and say, ‘Hey, let’s play it there.’ It’s a general collaboration.”
An internal “scrimmage” to test yourself
Before planning a return to play, Kevin Durant will first have to go through contact in training.
“The plan is for him to play a practice match and see how he handles that,” adds Steve Kerr, an internal “scrimming” in match conditions being planned for this Thursday. “He looked good today (yesterday), he did everything, he took a lot of shots and he told me he felt pretty good.”
The question of the integration of the squad will inevitably arise. Will Kevin Durant be a starter upon resumption, alongside Stephen Curry, Jrue Holiday, LeBron James and Joel Embiid in the starting five?
The answer may be this Sunday, against Serbia, at 5:15 p.m. Although we don't yet know if he will be able to play in the match, Kevin Durant is optimistic about his participation in the Olympic tournament. He is indeed counting on winning a fourth gold medal at the Olympics, which would be the (male) record in the discipline.
