Brooklyn Nets expect Kevin Durant to miss 2019-20 season

Sept. 24 (UPI) -- The Brooklyn Nets expect star forward Kevin Durant to miss the entire 2019-20 NBA season as he continues to recover from his Achilles injury.

Nets general manager Sean Marks told reporters Tuesday the Nets are planning to play this year without Durant. He said the All-Star will have a say in determining when he's ready to return to the court.

"His rehab is going very well," Marks said. "With Kevin, I think what we're going to say is the expectations are that he'll be out for the year. We're not going to plan on him playing.

"His rehab will, obviously, be predetermined over the course of the next few months and how he goes with our performance team and so forth. But ultimately, Kevin will have a large say in when he comes back and how he's feeling. But the expectations now are for him to be out for the year."

Durant is recovering from surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles tendon. The 2014 NBA MVP suffered the injury while playing for the Golden State Warriors in last season's NBA Finals.

After the Toronto Raptors defeated the Warriors to claim their first NBA championship, Durant left Golden State to sign with the Nets in July. At the time, Brooklyn left open the possibility that Durant could suit up this season.

Durant, a two-time NBA champion and 10-time All-Star, averaged 26 points, 6.4 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game in 78 regular-season contests in the 2018-19 campaign.