Kevin Durant out for season, needs another foot surgery

Durant is healthy now and practicing at Team USA’s Las Vegas minicamps, although he skipped Thursday’s scrimmage. But in an enlightening article by Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding, Durant admitted that his injury last season was even more serious than he or the team disclosed at the time.

When Durant was shut down after the All-Star break after playing only 27 games, the reason given was “signs of regression” in his foot. The team didn’t reveal the second crack at the time. Durant also said that he underwent a controversial procedure one that uses bone graft material not approved by the FDA. The nature of the surgery also required a longer recovery time.

Now the franchise is faced with an incredibly nerve-wracking summer. Durant can become a free agent in 2016. He’s never let on that he wants to leave Oklahoma City, and in fact his sentiments seem quite the opposite. He seems to truly love OKC and (most of) his Thunder brethren. But that doesn’t mean he won’t listen to other teams, other cities and other players in July 2016. That doesn’t mean he won’t follow in LeBron’s footsteps and look to build a superpower in a more glamorous city.

Thunder GM Sam Presti doesn’t have to do anything. OKC is already a contender for the 2015-16 championship without making any moves, provided Durant, Westbrook and Ibaka are healthy for opening night. While there’s no guarantee a title would keep KD in OKC, that has to be the goal (as it is every year). There’s just a hard deadline this time. Either way, you want a championship to convince him to stay, or you want to squeeze one out of him before he leaves. So, while the Thunder are already great when healthy, the team really faces a mandate to do everything in its power to be the greatest.

A couple of weeks ago, it seemed that Durant’s return was imminent. Now, he’s facing more surgery and a four to six month timetable for recovery. Presti emphasized that his health is more important than him returning in time for the playoffs and Durant won’t step on the floor again until he’s no longer feeling soreness in the foot.

The initial Jones fracture in Durant’s right foot and the ensuing six-to-eight week timetable was announced on Oct. 12. At the time, it was only seen as a temporary setback. When suffering a Jones fracture for the first time, doctors say the outcome is usually consistent. As long as the foot heals, reinjuring it is unlikely. All Durant had to do is to wait it out and he’d be OK.

Durant will also undergo a bone graft procedure in the coming week, which is standard for about five to seven percent of Jones fracture injuries that fail to heal properly. The recovery process for that surgery is four to six months.

“It was the consensus of the specialists team, in addition to a collective decision by Kevin, his representation and the Thunder, that to address the setback of the fracture site, a bone graft procedure would be the most proactive and recommended approach,” Thunder general manager Sam Presti said in a press release.

In a Friday press conference, Thunder general manager Sam Presti didn’t give a clear timetable but said shutting Durant down for the season was the “direction [they’re] headed right now.”

“Unless he’s able to be back on the floor without soreness, he won’t be back on the floor,” Presti said.

“Experiencing a little bit of soreness,” Brooks told ESPN. “That’s expected. We have some peaks and valleys, and we always have a cautious approach, so today he didn’t do anything.”

Before the season when Durant first had the injury, there was concern that he could re-injure it by coming back too soon. Durant returned ahead of schedule, re-injured the foot and now has only played 27 games this season with the complications that are now threatening his season.

Kevin Durant has missed the last 10 games with his latest foot injury, but the Oklahoma City Thunder star may be returning soon. Coach Scott Brooks said Durant was evaluated on Wednesday and could return in or a week or two.

Russell Westbrook has been playing at an MVP level with Durant out of the lineup, but Oklahoma City is still in a dog fight for the eighth seed in the Western Conference. The Thunder entered Wednesday night tied with the Pelicans for the final spot in the playoff picture.

This will be the 24th game Durant has missed this season. He sat out the first 17 games of the year with a foot injury and has also dealt with an ankle sprain.

Durant had 32 points against Cleveland on Sunday and had been playing great, averaging 26.5 points per game on 50.7 percent shooting in January. Oklahoma City is still on the outside of the Western Conference playoff picture, entering Monday night in 10th place in the conference and three games behind the Phoenix Suns for the No. 8 spot.

Kevin Durant crashed to the floor on a drive and had to be helped off by teammates just before halftime in the Thunder’s game against the Warriors on Thursday night. The injury has been diagnosed as a “mild ankle sprain”, the team announced. Durant will miss Friday night’s game against the Lakers:

Here’s a look at the injury:

Durant’s return, coupled with Russell Westbrook’s recent clean bill of health, will assuredly give the Thunder a jolt. Oklahoma City has started just 5-12, mostly without both players, and there was talk that they wouldn’t return in time for the Thunder to make a playoff push in the deep Western Conference. But Oklahoma City is just 4.5 games behind Phoenix for the No. 8 seed with 65 games to make up ground.

Westbrook’s return changed the outlook of the Thunder team and led to a dominant win on Friday, and bringing the reigning MVP back should provide a similar boost as Oklahoma City tries to work its way back into playoff contention.

Durant returned to the practice floor last week after suffering a Jones fracture in his right foot in October. The reigning MVP went through a full contact practice on Monday with no reported setbacks, setting the stage for a possible return in New Orleans.

After days of pondering his next move, Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant elected to undergo surgery to repair a Jones fracture in his left foot, the team announced. His recovery will be re-evaluated in six weeks. The surgery was performed by Dr. Robert Anderson at the OrthoCarolina Foot and Ankle Clinic in Charlotte, N.C.

Surgery was always the most likely outcome for Durant, but he waited five days before ultimately going under the knife.

The two things are not really the same. The Blazers pressured Walton to play and take pain shots against his better judgment, which is not the case here. And yet! This was going to happen eventually.

The Thunder wear KD’s ass out. He’s gone over 3,000 minutes in four of the last five seasons and only the lockout stopped it from being five straight. I don’t care how genetically unique Durant is: getting hurt was inevitable. Playing 3,000 minutes is no good for anyone. Still, it caught me by surprise because I never imagined Durant getting hurt. This sucks, obviously.

Who’s on the roster?

Does this mean Reggie Jackson will start?

It’s well known that Lil B -- author of the hit single “F*ck KD” -- once put a curse on Kevin Durant. A very real curse. The curse had supposedly been lifted, but now Durant could miss 2 months with a foot injury and Mr. B is beside himself:

And that’s the analysis we were waiting for.

But what is a Jones fracture and is it actually a more serious injury than the initial diagnosis suggests? Let’s take a look at the star’s injury and how it has affected other NBA players.

A Jones fracture is a broken bone in the midsection of the fifth metatarsal of the foot, at the base near the little toe. It can cause pain and swelling if not treated. As GM Sam Presti said in the team’s official statement Sunday, the injury was discovered because Durant informed the team he was having issues after practice.

Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti repeatedly stressed that the team has not yet settled on a timetable or a plan for the Jones fracture in Kevin Durant’s foot. In a Sunday press conference following the announcement, Presti said that while most Jones fracture cases require a 6-8-week recovery, the Thunder still must gather more information before committing to that timetable.

“Jones fracture is, from what I’ve been told, the most common surgical procedure performed on NBA players as of late. There’s enough of a body of work to look at an average recovery time,” Presti said.

When Westbrook missed six weeks last season, it was on Durant to step in and do more for OKC. He did. This time, Westbrook is on the clock. And if you’ve watched Russ at all over the past six years, you know he’ll fight every single possession to keep the Thunder afloat.

Westbrook has been one of the top scoring point guards in the NBA since he arrived and that’s exactly what OKC needs in Durant’s absence. KD scores nearly 30 points per game, and the Thunder’s options behind him aren’t built to pour in buckets. (OKC barely has another true small forward; Perry Jones is the closest option.) The Thunder have one big man -- Serge Ibaka -- who can score double-digits every night.

The Oklahoma City Thunder announced Sunday Kevin Durant has suffered a Jones fracture in his right foot and will likely miss 6-8 weeks, the team announced. He felt discomfort during practice Saturday.

“Afte practice yesterday, Kevin made us aware of discomfort in his right foot,” Thunder GM Sam Presti said in a statement. “We proceeded to perform the necessary imagining [sic.] studies to determine the cause of his discomfort. At this stage, Kevin has been diagnosed with a Jones fracture. Traditional treatment of this injury requires a surgical procedure, and recent NBA cases have resulted in a return to play in 6-8 weeks.”