As Kevin Durant returns from a ruptured Achilles tendon, the Nets could have a need for him to play up a position after long slotting in as a wing in the NBA.
That led him to say during a virtual press conference on Wednesday that he could see himself playing some center for Brooklyn in 2020-21 in smaller Nets lineups.
Kevin Durant says he expects to spend time playing at the four and the five. He said he doesn’t have a set number of minutes in mind to play in pre-season games, but he hopes to get a feel for what sort of load his body can take coming off the Achilles injury.
— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) December 9, 2020
Second-year big man Nic Claxton underwent surgery for right knee tendinopathy last week, leaving De’Andre Jordan and Jarrett Allen as the only traditional bigs on the roster.
The 2014 NBA MVP also said he will act as the offensive initiator for the team at times as well.
Durant: "I don't think about James Harden at all. He doesn't play on our team."
— Alex Schiffer (@Alex__Schiffer) December 9, 2020
While the Nets have depth at both point guard and center, their overall roster is deeper on the wing after re-signing Joe Harris this offseason and adding players like Bruce Brown and Landry Shamet. So it makes sense that new head coach Steve Nash might take advantage of Durant’s versatility to build out smaller and more dynamic lineups. At the same time, training camp is always the time where teams throw stuff at the wall, so maybe by the time the season comes around, Durant is in a more natural point forward role.
Another option for Brooklyn at center in smaller lineups is newly signed Jeff Green, who functioned as the backup center for the super-small Rockets last season and in the Bubble. And of course, the Nets have plenty of depth at point guard between Kyrie Irving and Spencer Dinwiddie, so don’t expect Durant to turn into a true point guard any time soon, but we’ve certainly seen Durant run offense in the past.
No matter how they line up, Nash’s Nets will have plenty of talent and versatility on offense. The bigger question is whether they can defend well enough, and it’s not clear whether Durant, coming back from a nasty injury, can be a consistent deterrent on the interior defensively.
