NBA Insider names potential return date for Kevin Durant

The NBA landscape changed dramatically in February when the Phoenix Suns pulled off a blockbuster trade for future Hall of Famer Kevin Durant.

He was expected to lift an already good team in the championship chase but he has only played three games for them so far due to injuries.

When the trade was executed, he was already out with a sprained knee, and on March 8, just before what was to be his first home game with the Suns, he sprained his ankle during warmups and has been absent since.

According to NBA insider Shams Charania, Durant could return next Wednesday when Phoenix hosts the Minnesota Timberwolves.

13-time Phoenix Suns All-Star Kevin Durant (sprained ankle) is progressing toward a potential return to action Wednesday against the Minnesota Timberwolves barring a setback, league sources say @TheAthletic @Stadium.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 24, 2023

The 34-year-old is still one of basketball’s best players when healthy, and he’s averaging 29.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game this season all while shooting 56.6% from the field and 38.6% from 3-point range.

But since tearing his Achilles tendon in the 2019 NBA Finals, he’s been injury prone.

Durant hasn’t appeared in more than 55 games in a single season since, and that makes his contract, which pays him more than $44 million this year, seem more like an albatross than an investment.

The Suns gave up Mikal Bridges, one of the NBA’s top 3-D wings, key reserve Cameron Johnson and five future first-round picks to get Durant.

If he was in his late 20s or even early 30s and had no injury issues, maybe that award could be justified, but instead he put enormous pressure on the franchise. to win his first world championship as soon as possible.

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