Nets' Kevin Durant to return next week, but not against the Raptors

Though it had been hoped that the Nets' star would return to action this week, it now seems he will have to wait a little bit longer

Kevin Durant's return slightly delayed

According to comments from Brooklyn Nets head coach Steve Nash, star forward Kevin Durant is still on schedule for a return to the court next week, but it won't be against the Toronto Raptors come Monday night. It is understood that in recent days Durant has been participating in more on-court work, as he attempts to recover from a sprained MCL he suffered in his left knee last month. Nash remains confident that the team will be able to count on the former league MVP's services soon enough, though not against Toronto.

"I think with Kevin he's been a great healer throughout his career," Nash said Saturday. "So the No. 1 thing is to get him back healthy and feeling secure in his health and his body so he can move and be free. When he's back, obviously he adds a ton to our team on both ends of the floor...one of the greatest scorers of all time. And we also know he helps us defensively; he gives us more size and length. So he's a big miss for us, and whenever he gets back, he'll impact our team."

The Nets have missed Kevin Durant

To be frank, the Nets have not been in good shape without Durant. In fact one could say Brooklyn has been pretty awful in the absence of their star. Of the 18 games that Durant has sat out the Nets have lost 14, leaving them in eighth place in the Eastern Conference standings. With the clock ticking, the Nets will definitely need to improve as for the moment they are sitting dangerously close to having to resort to the play-in tournament in order to secure a sport in the playoffs. That's something that would have surely been unthinkable at the start of the season given the star studded roster that the Nets have.

What happened to Kevin Durant?

It was back on January 15th in a game against the New Orleans Pelicans when Durant suffered the injury. It was actually the result of an action by one of his own teammates. While trying to guard the Pelicans Herb Jones, Durant's teammate, Bruce Brown fell backward into Durant's left knee. Durant immediately clutched his knee in visible pain and could be seen limping off of the court as he was taken to the lock room for scans. The Nets' would not return to the game. In his 12 minutes on the court during that win over the Pelicans, Durant came up with 12 points, three rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block in 12 minutes, only serving to emphasize the importance of his role for the Nets.

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Kevin Durant is excited about the Nets' future

With his return to action imminent, it will be interesting to see how Durant fits into a somewhat different Brooklyn lineup when he finally does. James Harden is gone along with veteran forward Paul Millsap - to the Philadelphia 76ers and in their place are Ben Simmons, Seth Curry and Andre Drummond. The Nets also got a two picks prior to the NBA's trade deadline earlier this week. There was of course also veteran Goran Dragic who arrived via the buyout market. Despite the changes and the growing pains that will follow, Durant is excited about the team's prospects.

"I'm excited for our team," Durant said of the varying trades. "Looking forward to finishing the season out with this new group and these new players. Playoffs are right around the corner so we got to fast-track it to get used to each other, but I'm excited. I think everybody got what they wanted." With that, the Nets now face a scramble to get into the playoffs, but with knowledge that Durant will soon be back, one has to like their chances.