Of all the theatrics involving Monday night’s 106-105 Game 5 win for the Warriors, there was perhaps no stranger thing unfolding in real-time than Golden State general manager Bob Myers’ postgame press conference.
You can watch the whole thing here. He was in tears before it started, and he was on the verge of sobbing throughout, while talking about Kevin Durant and the injury he suffered in the second quarter, which elicited an ugly reaction from Toronto’s crowd, particularly from this guy.
(It was Durant’s first game since May 8th, and he looked great until he went down, scoring 11 points on three made 3-pointers.)
FWIW: Here’s what Steve Kerr said before Game 5: "We'll start him and play him in short spurts and see how he responds."
He played 12 of the game’s first 14 minutes.
With some more context this morning, Myers’ fatalistic tone makes a lot of sense: Durant likely has an Achilles tendon tear, a devastating injury that zaps athleticism and has ruined many good careers. It’s the same thing DeMarcus Cousins has struggled to come back from this season.
“If there is anyone to blame, blame me,” Myers said.
You can see the moment the tear likely happened, in a lot of detail, here.
Isiah Thomas had the same injury at 32. He never played again. Kobe tore it at 35 and spent the next three seasons failing to recapture his former self.
Durant is 30 years old and comes with a lot of mileage.
He’s in his 12th season, most of which have included deep runs in the postseason. If it is indeed a tear of the Achilles, playing at all next season doesn’t seem likely.
His injury doesn’t just make next season a little more cloudy, it shuffles the entire deck. It seemed like a done deal for months that Durant would be headed to the Knicks after this season. Does that still happen? Does he opt into his final year in Golden State, and make $31.5 million while recovering? Does he sign a max contract somewhere else?
There are lots of questions to be answered.
[READ: An up-close look at the night that may have changed Kevin Durant’s career forever]
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