PHOENIX SUNS
Kevin Durant gets shots up after Suns’ Thursday shootaround
PHOENIX — Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant was seen getting shots up after the team’s shootaround on Thursday morning before a matchup with the Orlando Magic.
— Kellan Olson (@KellanOlson) March 16, 2023
Durant is one week into his three-week re-evaluation timeline on a sprained left ankle suffered in pregame warmups on March 8 versus the Oklahoma City Thunder.
He was roughly 10 minutes into shooting before the media’s time on the floor after shootaround ended. Some of Durant’s shooting included jumping, taking fadeaways and landing on just that left foot.
Head coach Monty Williams said pregame that’s all Durant has done at this point and that it is a part of Durant’s progression.
Durant was not out on the court pregame for his usual individual work in his usual allotted time slot, an item on the checklist that usually serves as a positive indicator if an injured player is out there. Another is if a player is traveling with the team, and when Williams was asked pregame if Durant will start doing that with the Suns, he said they don’t know yet and they’ll see.
General manager James Jones told Arizona Sports’ Burns & Gambo on Wednesday that the timeline hasn’t changed.
“We’ll still re-evaluate in three weeks,” he said. “That’s where we are.”
Jones told azcentral’s Duane Rankin that Durant would play if it was the playoffs, and he shared a similar sentiment on Wednesday.
“If this were the playoffs, I’m pretty sure it’d be very, very difficult to keep him off the floor,” Jones said.
