A few things are certain regarding the Oklahoma City Thunder this season: First, OKC’s best bet to make the playoffs rests solely on the shoulders of All-Star guard Russell Westbrook. Second, Westbrook’s string of triple-doubles makes him the team’s best candidate for the NBA MVP award, which Kevin Durant won last year.
Finally, any success that the Thunder have this season will be without Durant, who will undergo his third foot surgery in less than six months, thus ending his season, as reported by Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
Kevin Durant to have season-ending surgery. http://t.co/ufJ6o8I7O5 #NBA #Thunder
— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) March 27, 2015
The fifth metatarsal on his right foot, which previously required surgery to correct a Jones fracture, has shown signs of regression. Durant will undergo a bone graft procedure next week that will keep him out of commission for four to six months.
Thunder Vice President and GM SamPresti released the following statement regarding the news of Durant’s season-ending surgery.
As we communicated last week, Kevin was going to use this time to engage in consultation and evaluation regarding the persistent soreness in his right foot at this stage of his rehabilitation. As part of this process, Kevin and Thunder personnel traveled to two additional specialists this past week; Dr. Martin O’Malley in New York City and Dr. James Nunley at Duke University. These in-person consults were designed to further supplement the previous evaluations of Dr. Bob Anderson. Several conference calls and discussions amongst the specialist team concluded that, while the majority of the soreness in Kevin’s foot was related to continued inflammation of the cuboid bone and would subside with rest, the evaluation process also determined that the Jones fracture of the fifth metatarsal, which had shown significant healing previously, was now demonstrating signs of regression.
With the focus of this process being aimed entirely on Kevin’s long term health and stability, 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. The bone graft is the standard procedure for the five to eight percent of Jones fracture surgeries that do not initially have success or experience setbacks sometime within the recovery period.While everyone is disappointed that Kevin falls into that group, we are encouraged that the bone graft procedure has historically demonstrated long-term health and stability.
Dr. O’Malley will perform the bone graft surgery early next week in New York. He has extensive bone grafting experience amongst athletes and has been consulting on the case throughout. Kevin will miss the remainder of the 2014-15 season and is expected to return to basketball activities in the next four to six months.”
A number of NBA athletes expressed both their concern and hope for Durant’s recovery.
Prayers up for @KDTrey5 & hopes for a speedy recovery..the game just isn’t the same with him out…#NBABrotherhood — DWade (@DwyaneWade) March 27, 2015
Prayers up for lil bro @KDTrey5..one of the greats, will be back better than ever..#staystrong
— Jamal Crawford (@JCrossover) March 27, 2015
Prayers out to @KDTrey5 . Broke my fifth twice in one year. Hate to see it happen but he will recover and be back on the court serving
— CJ McCollum (@CJMcCollum) March 27, 2015
Prayers out to my bro @kdtrey5 on a speedy recovery! Many people like to play this game, but he’s one… https://t.co/kJBm7MtNmE — Chris Paul (@CP3) March 27, 2015
Speedy recovery family @kdtrey5 look ahead God got this https://t.co/iZOqJEnjVq — Caron Butler (@realtuffjuice) March 27, 2015
Praying for my dawg @KDTrey5 man! I know how much he loves the game! Get well soon brother!
— Jordan Hamilton (@J_Goin_HAM) March 28, 2015
Among the many sports writers to comment on Durant’s plight, the tweets of Amin Elhassan of ESPN and Utah Jazz radio announcer David Locke seem to sum up both extremes of the tragedy and hope of the Thunder.
Shaq and Penny were supposed to run the NBA for a decade. KD & Russ same. Life comes at you fast. — Amin Elhassan (@AminESPN) March 27, 2015
Zydrunas Ilgauskas had major reconstruction on his left foot and played 8 more seasons so lets go with that comp for Durant — David Locke (@Lockedonsports) March 27, 2015
On behalf of the staff here at Sheridan Hoops, we stand with everyone else in wishing Durant a speedy and complete recovery.
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As was pointed out in another blog, Presti may deserve much of the blame, for giving in to pressure and rushing Durant back just 6 weeks after the initial surgery. The original release at the time of the October surgery was that he would be evaluated after 6 weeks (Dec 1). However, we know that KD had already started lightworkout after 4 weeks and heavy contact workouts just before his Dec 1 evaluation. Apparently he did get clearance by the surgeon on Dec 1, but that doesn’t mean it was a good idea to be playing in games beginning with the next day (Dec. 2). Unlike with other organizations, where the team’s athletic staff have a role in deciding when a player returns (eg. Brooklyn Nets for a conservative example), Chris Sheridan says that it’s Presti who is fully in charge for OKC. And with KD being enthusiastic to get back on the court and Presti encouraging him, such actions may be responsible for the current failure. No way they should have let KD touch a basketball before Dec. 2, or play in a game before Christmas, even if he felt good. And then, as Sheridan pointed out, OKC needs to stop labeling, surgical removal of his titanium screw as “a minor procedure” that would be evaluated in 1 week. And it was never explained how replacing the screw was going to solve his problem – as it turns out it was the wrong approach. It seems Presti still hasn’t learned his lesson, yet I don’t see anyone else blaming him.
OKC as well as NBA writers failed to take a lesson from the best recent example of big man Brook Lopez, who was “rushed” back after 8 weeks (ahead of hoped for Dwight Howard trade), back in 2012, which was too soon. Maybe NBA writers just have no respect for Lopez (for being a 7’2″ “clumsy” big man), but no one is laughing at him now – Brook has been one of the best Centers in the NBA since the All Star break. He had a reconstructive right foot surgery last January, but was barely ready for the beginning of the season, and it would be 13 months before moving as good as ever.
Now Lopez did have a more extensive reconstruction, where the base of his foot was broadening, to take more pressure off of the 5th metatarsal, but to imply that Durant will be 100% in 6 months (preseason), is just a hopeful wish. And since I don’t believe KD’s surgery will be taking pressure off his 5th metatarsal, its possible the injury could repeat itself. Brook Lopez may have better NBA future that KD, at this point (lol).
BTW, the two leading surgeons (O’Malley from Hospital for Special Surgery) and Nunley from Duke), were the same leading surgeons on Brook Lopez’ successful surgery last January. I doubt they would have recommended such a quick return after KD’s original surgery.
You’re likely right. Those doctors may not have recommended such a quick return. However, every person’s body is different. What has worked for Lopez may not necessarily be the perfect answer for Durant.
Though it was a different part of the body, Derrick Rose has repeatedly been given as much time as necessary for a full recovery, yet he has continued to have problems. The same could be said of Greg Oden’s leg injury woes or even Yao Ming’s history with foot injuries. Everyone does not heal the same.
Most athletes that get knee surgeries are never the same, yet Adrian Peterson had both a miraculously quick recovery and played at a level that was, perhaps, better than he had before.
We can all hope for the best for Durant, but there is no telling if even the most cautious approach will bode well in his favor.
I agree that Russell Westbrook has proven so far to be a freak of nature. That might not be the case when he reaches Kobe’s age. Maybe OKC wished that Durant would have the same luck, but that was a foot bone fracture – no such luck.
He never should have been brought back before Christmas, after the original surgery, or started basketball activities just 4-5 weeks. We will never know if that would have prevented his subsequent problems (the ESPN orthopedist, Dr. Mark Adickes, claims that his fracture had never healed). However, we Do know why KD was rushed back on Dec 2.
OKC and Presti wanted badly to secure a top 4 seed in the West, and the media was rooting for OKC too.
Had they just taken the attitude that it was more important to be sure that KD was healthy, then they would have played it safe and OKC would be a 7 or 6 seed at this time and a team to fear. They gambled and lost.