Kevin Durant was a last-minute scratch from the starting lineup, then was inserted late into Friday night’s Brooklyn game and eventually pulled for good, all due to COVID-19 contact tracking. It’s not the first time the Nets star has missed time on coronavirus protocols, and he could do that again.
The NBA uses the term occupational health and safety protocols, but essentially someone Durant has come into contact with has tested positive for coronavirus. And that contact that ensued has wreaked havoc on the Nets’ game against a visit to Toronto – and could have a lasting impact in the future too if Durant is quarantined.
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 bubble or his return from Achilles surgery.
Then last month Durant had to go through a seven-day quarantine and miss three consecutive games – Utah, Philadelphia and Memphis – due to exposure to someone who tested positive for coronavirus.
Durant has tested negative for COVID-19 and recently tested positive for antibodies. But since the league’s COVID-19 protocols don’t differentiate between players who have antibodies and those who don’t, Durant was not exempt and eventually had to serve out.
That could haunt the Nets again. Durant was scheduled to start against Toronto on Friday, but Brooklyn announced at 7:38 PM – about two minutes before lineups were announced – that he would not be available to start.
Durant himself was not given a new COVID test. There were additional tests for the person he came into contact with, along with clarifying the procedures for contact tracing for this case with the NBA. The league eventually called and decided that he was allowed to play, and he checked into the game by replacing James Harden with 4:13 left in the first quarter and Brooklyn 26-17.
Still, Durant’s night didn’t last long: 19 minutes to be exact.
Durant, who also picked up a few attacks and was whistled for his fifth foul when he chased that loose ball with 9:06 left in the third quarter. Nets coach Steve Nash challenged the call and got it reversed, but Durant – who had gone to the bench – sat out for 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 crack double digits since February 28, 2017, when he only signed up 1:33 for Golden State. It remains to be seen whether Durant should be quarantined again, or for how long.