USA Basketball didn’t stay mad at Durant
They tend to live in the moment around USA Basketball. Never reacting much to the past, rarely predicting the future.
They also don’t seem to hold grudges.
At least not against one of the world’s best players.
Kevin Durant didn’t play in the Blue-White scrimmage Thursday night at the Thomas & Mack Center, and except for a few NBA All-Star caliber names, you might have needed a roster sheet to recognize most who did.
The minicamp that was more a glorified shooting exercise concluded with a similar 40-minute game in which most who ultimately will make up the U.S. team at the Rio Olympics next year smartly chose to skip.
Durant hasn’t competed in 5-on-5 action since undergoing yet another foot surgery four months ago, and his court time in Las Vegas the past few days was limited to the same noncontact drills more than 30 players participated in at the Mendenhall Center.
But the Oklahoma City Thunder star appears in good shape and, more important when it comes to his international career, good standing with USA Basketball brass.
You remember last year at this time …
Durant had committed to playing in the World Cup in Spain, but backed out after the first round of a training camp in Las Vegas in which Paul George suffered a devastating leg injury during a scrimmage similar to Thursday’s.
Durant first told USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo and head coach Mike Krzyzewski he was mentally and physically drained and needed rest.
He later admitted the obvious: George’s injury freaked the you-know-what out of him. That, and he was about to sign a new $300 million shoe deal, which would cause anyone pause when potential injury might be at risk.
“You know, last year seems like 100 years ago,” Colangelo said. “Kevin was affected by a lot of things around him. The important thing is, he’s in great shape now. He has a great look in his eye. I’m excited that he is healthy and wants to participate. He has been a big part of USA Basketball. Equity counts. It’s important.”
It’s a different song than Colangelo was singing last year, when he told reporters after Durant opted out of the World Cup that he wasn’t “the same Kevin Durant who was wide-eyed and bushy-tailed … I didn’t see the same vigor. He was always so active and positive. He had a different look to him.”
Time passes. Injuries heal. Fear subsides.
Shoe deals are signed.
Equity shows its teeth.
Durant almost made the Beijing Olympic team in 2008. He was the best player at the World Championships in Istanbul two years later, then led the Americans in scoring at the London Games, going for 30 points in the gold-medal game.
But he had his third foot surgery in a year in March — the latest one to repair the fifth metatarsal — and it’s a problem that has slowed one of the world’s best players as he awaits the free-agent market next summer, which makes his recovery all that more important.
“I had my days where I’m like, ‘Man, this isn’t getting any better, I’m sick of working out, I’ve been working out for a year, I’m ready to play,'” Durant said. “It was kind of like cabin fever almost. I played a lot of (video games) and watched a lot of the NBA playoffs, even though I said I wouldn’t. That atmosphere, I couldn’t shy away from that, so I just wanted to watch it and learn.
“It was tough, man, because I love to play the game, and not being able to play at the highest level, it was tough for me. But I’m glad I went through that journey, and it’s made me a stronger man.”
He might not have endeared himself in the moment to those USA Basketball officials last year, but it was never going to cost the four-time scoring champion a spot on the Rio roster should he be healthy and willing to again go for gold.
There is a season to prepare for now, a new Thunder coach in Billy Donovan to play for, a goal of returning Oklahoma City to the playoffs to shoot for. Durant will be entering his ninth season and still chases his first championship, one reason he won’t talk about next summer in terms of being recruited by other teams.
This much is true: No player probably will offer a more interesting NBA storyline the next seven to eight months.
“He looks great, so I’m excited for him and the upcoming season,” Krzyzewski said. “It’s good to see him again. Kevin has been committed to USA Basketball since he got out of the University of Texas. What happens for all these guys is that injury, contractual problems or personal things can enter into the decisions, so we’re aware of that. It is why we have a pool of players.”
Thing is, there are different levels to that pool.
Durant, a year after causing a bit of a wave, is back wading in smooth waters.
Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ed Graney can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be a heard on “Seat and Ed” on Fox Sports 1340 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Follow him: @edgraney
