Kevin Durant was a last-minute scratch from the starting line, then was introduced late into the game on Friday night in Brooklyn and finally fired for good, thanks to tracking COVID-19 contacts. It’s not the first time the Nets star has wasted time on coronavirus protocols and could again.
The NBA uses the term health and safety protocols, but in essence, someone with whom Durant came in contact with the positive test for coronavirus. And that contact that followed wreaked havoc with the Nets game against visiting Toronto – and it could have a lasting impact in the future, if Durant has to quarantine.
Durant will not travel with the team to Philadelphia on Saturday, according to ESPN.
Durant had COVID-19 in May, after the 2019-20 NBA season was suspended, but before the Orlando ball or his return from Achilles surgery.
Then last month, Durant was forced to face a seven-day quarantine and miss three consecutive games – Utah, Philadelphia and Memphis – due to exposure to someone who tested positive for coronavirus.
Durant tested negative for COVID-19 and recently tested positive for antibodies. But, since the league’s COVID-19 protocols do not differentiate between players who have antibodies and those who do not, Durant was not exempt and ended up having to stay.
That could come back to haunt the Nets again. Durant was scheduled to start on Friday against Toronto, but Brooklyn announced at 7:38 p.m. – about two minutes before the announcement of the lineup – that he would not be available to begin.
Durant himself did not receive another COVID test. There were additional tests for anyone who came in contact, along with clarifying the procedures for tracking contacts for this case with the NBA. The league finally appealed and decided it was allowed to play and came into play replacing James Harden with 4:13 left in the first quarter and Brooklyn down, 26-17.
However, Durant’s night didn’t last long: 19 minutes, to be exact.
Durant, who also raised a pair of charges and was whistled for his fifth foul following that free ball with 9:06 remaining in the third quarter. Nets coach Steve Nash provoked the call and overturned it, but Durant – who had gone to the bench – ended up staying the rest of the game for health and safety protocols.
In the end, Durant finished with eight points, six rebounds and five assists. It was the first time he failed to break double figures since February 28, 2017, when he recorded only 1:33 for Golden State. It remains to be seen whether Durant will have to quarantine again or for how long.