Kevin Durant dealing with sore foot, All-Star appearance could be in question
Commissioner Adam Silver may still have to add a third or fourth replacement to the Western Conference All-Star team.
With Silver having already replaced Kobe Bryant and Blake Griffin due to injury, the West could find itself short another pair of superstars. Not only is current MVP candidate Anthony Davis' status in question due to a shoulder injury, but the league's reigning MVP could be on the shelf too.
Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Scott Brooks revealed Wednesday that Kevin Durant is dealing with soreness in his surgically-repaired right foot. Durant had surgery to repair a Jones fracture in the foot, and soreness is expected to pop up from time to time, so the issue isn't believed to be serious.
Still, with the Thunder having almost fought back to a playoff spot, the Thunder are speaking in an understandably cautious fashion. Brooks said there hasn't been a conversation about Durant's status for Sunday's All-Star Game, but that such a conversation will happen.
"It's something we will definitely talk about," Brooks said.
The Thunder are a conservative franchise when it comes to player injuries, and Durant's importance to the team's chances of competing will likely have them play this weekend cautiously, too. Durant missed 16 games following the surgery and then later missed stretches of six games (ankle), two games (toe) and two games (toe again), and the team went 11-16 in the game's he missed.
In the 26 games he's played, Durant has been terrific, though his minutes and usage declining have his numbers a little south of last year's MVP season. Durant is averaging 25.9 points, 6.6 rebounds and four assists while shooting 51.7 percent from the floor, 40.5 percent on threes and 85.2 percent from the free throw line.
Should Durant miss the game, there's no clear candidate to replace him, with Damian Lillard and DeMarcus Cousins having already been added late. If he were healthy, Tyson Chandler would seem a good choice, but he has an ankle injury himself. Mike Conley would appear the best choice after Chandler, but there are enough candidates that four or five players could be deemed to have a strong case.