Brooklyn Nets’ Kevin Durant will not travel, can play multiple games due to contact tracing protocols

After a confusing night surrounding Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant’s status at the Barclays Center – including being pulled from the lineup in pregame and Q3 for contact tracking protocols – Durant will not travel to Philadelphia on Saturday. game and could be lost for multiple games for the second time in a month, sources tell ESPN.

Durant had come into contact with an employee who tested positive for the coronavirus on Friday night, just hours after returning an undecided test shortly before the loss of the Nets’ 123-117 against the Toronto Raptors.

That inspired a very dramatic scene in the third quarter: a Nets official informing Durant that he had to leave the bank for isolation, lugging a nervous franchise star into the bowels of Barclays, where he supposedly tweeted “ Free Me. ” in the last minutes of the game.

The Nets informed the league office on Friday afternoon of the individual’s unclear test and were eventually ordered to pull Durant out of pre-game warm-ups. Nets general manager, Sean Marks, had been on the phone with the league’s office and delivered the floor to the court.

Moments later, Steve Nash and his coaching staff found out that Durant would not be available to start the game.

Durant left the floor for the game, only to have the NBA release him to return to the bench shortly after the start of the first quarter.

“Durant was initially kept out of the game while that result was being revised,” the league statement said. “Under the league’s health and safety protocols, we do not require a player to be quarantined until close contact has a confirmed positive test.”

Before leaving the field for the last time in the third quarter, Durant sat on the bench while officials discussed a play in which he caught his fifth offense of the evening. The mistake was corrected, but Durant never checked in again.

As the time-out came to an end, a team official told Durant he would not be able to continue in the game. Durant apparently shook his head in frustration. As he walked back through the tunnel, Durant tossed his water bottle.

Durant, who played 19 minutes into the game, continued to tweet Friday night after the game, question the timeline and details of the competition.

On the heels of NBA stars LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo ridiculing the NBA and the NBPA’s plans for an Atlanta All-Star game on March 7, a sense of superstar revolt emerged late in the week.

“I don’t understand the whole thing where he couldn’t play, then he came onto the field and then they took him back,” said Nets security guard James Harden. It’s just a lot going on. Too much going on. It’s kind of overwhelming. We’re in the middle of a tough game, and these games will add up, especially when we talk about playoffs … to catch a rhythm. It’s overwhelming . It’s frustrating. “

“[Durant] feels the same. Especially now that he already has it and we are tested every day. He has been negative. So I don’t understand what the problem is. The game should have been postponed, I think. If we talk about contact tracking. He was with all of us. So I don’t understand why he was not allowed to play, then was allowed to play and then was taken off the field again. If that were the case, we should have postponed the game. “

Durant contracted the corona virus in March and had those antibodies in early January when he lost four games due to contact tracing. Four weeks later, Durant could be lost for a similar six-day stretch, sources said.

After Friday’s game, Nash said he sometimes struggled to compartmentalize Durant’s absence during the game.

“I was probably a little distracted thinking about what it means for our team in the long run,” said Nash. “We’ve been playing guys for quite a few minutes and if Kevin isn’t playing, are we going to play the remaining guys too many minutes? So maybe I was a little distracted by the big picture.”

The Nets will play Saturday (Philadelphia) and Tuesday (Detroit) and return home on Wednesday (Indiana). The Nets will begin a trip to the west coast against Golden State this Saturday.