Steve Kerr on Durant’s Injury: “There’s Going to be Finger-Pointing”

Kevin Durant ruptured his Achilles. That is a fact now. The Warriors’ superstar confirmed the information from the hospital bed in New York where he had his surgery done.

KD stated that the procedure went well.

“I did rupture my Achilles. Surgery was today, and it was a success, EASY MONEY.”

Durant will now have to go through a period of recovery which will set him apart from the court for at least seven or eight months. That is the best scenario.

“It’s going to be a journey, but I’m built for this. I’m a hooper.

Crossing codes but a few Q’s; concern by video for achilles injury for Kevin Durant. Pushing off typical for calf/achilles injury but ripple seen here often due to achilles tear. If complete rupture usual recovery 6-9 months, fingers crossed partial tearpic.twitter.com/YCEnh80yDZ

— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) June 11, 2019

It means that KD might be back in the late part of the next campaign, which dramatically changes the entire free agency picture. And how wouldn’t it, when the two-time NBA Finals MVP presented the main prize in that race.

What will be the strategy for all those franchises which targeted Durant as their cornerstone for the future? Well, we can’t really tell that. His value is definitely lower than before. Ruptured Achilles is one of the worst injuries for a professional athlete, regardless of the sport.

Now, when talking about the injury he picked up, many of the fans and even some of the experts are saying that Golden State organization should be blamed for this tragedy.

Steve Kerr spoke about that at the media availability before Game 6 yesterday, declaring that the Warriors’ franchise completely accepts all the criticism.

“There’s going to be finger-pointing, and we understand that. And we accept that,” Kerr said. “There’s all kinds of coverage, judgment, criticism, and it’s all part of it, so we accept that.”

"Our feeling was the worst thing that could happen would be a re-injury of the calf. … the Achilles came as a complete shock."

Steve Kerr addresses the decision to play Kevin Durant in Game 5 following his season-ending injury. #NBAFinals pic.twitter.com/06438iLDJp

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 12, 2019

Golden State’s coach said that his decision about whether Durant needed to play or not was right, stating that he would do the same thing if he had another chance. Kerr also explained that the medical staff gave a green light for KD to come back on the court. Back then, the doctors said that the worst possible scenario involved another calf injury.

“When we gathered all the information, our feeling was the worst thing that could happen would be a reinjury of the calf. At that point, once Kevin was cleared to play, he was comfortable with that.”

According to Kerr, the whole organization was shocked when they heard that the Achilles is damaged. Nobody wanted that to happen. On the other hand, nobody desires to get away from what took place that night at the Scotiabank Arena.

“You kind of just live with that, because that’s what’s a part of our game.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xRXTOJ8uSg

The entire situation is very complex, and it isn’t fair that someone blames Kerr or anybody from the Warriors’ organization for KD’s injury. Those people have to understand that the stake was just too high for him not to play. Not a title, but a three-peat, and a chance to go down as one of the most dominant dynasties in the history of the NBA.

Plus, they were down 1-3 against the Raptors, playing on the road in a must-win situation. So, if you look a bit closer, there shouldn’t be any “finger-pointing.” After all, the doctors said that it is ok for the player to get back.

Everybody waited for Durant to come back, after missing the entire series against the Blazers and the first four games of the finals. He is the guy who likes to play at this time of the year, and the Warriors needed him badly.

Unfortunately, it didn’t work out that way.

We will see what happens next, regarding the Warriors’ results in the finals, and KD’s free agency plans.