PHOENIX — It's been a long three weeks for Suns fans as Kevin Durant has been sidelined due to a sprained ankle, which he suffered during pregame warmups for what was supposed to be his Footprint Center debut on March 8. And on Wednesday, when the Suns take on the Minnesota Timberwolves at Footprint Center, it appears that Durant will finally get to play in front of his new hometown fans, according to a report from NBA insider Shams Charania.
Durant has played in just three of the 19 games since the Suns acquired him in a trade with the Brooklyn Nets on February 8 due to a sprained MCL and the sprained ankle, but all signs now point to Durant being back for the final playoff push.
However, Suns head coach Monty Williams wasn't ready to confirm the news at practice Wednesday afternoon.
"Nothing’s changed," Williams said. "He’s just doing a bit more work on the floor, so we’ll have an official update when we have one."
Williams added that he understands the excitement about getting Durant back on the floor, he just has a process for knowing when his players are ready to return from injuries.
"It’s always the same thing," Williams said. "Is he in a place where he can play against contact? Is the cardio where it needs to be? Is the fatigue level where it needs to be, where once he gets fatigued, he’s not putting himself in harm’s way? I think those are the things that are hard to do this time of the year because we just don’t have the practice time. Every organization is built to have extra bodies so that you can play 3-on-3 and 4-on-4 and 1-on-1. Those are things that we have to make sure we do properly and then evaluate after that’s done."
Suns guard Devin Booker told reporters it was great to have Durant join the team for their road win over the Utah Jazz Monday night, but it will be even better to have him in uniform on Wednesday.
"It’s a really good feeling," Booker said. "And not only that, not even the defender, just the spacing overall and the gravity of the game and even more now than ever, where a team’s gonna have to pick your poison. We’ll see how it goes. We had a three-game sample of it and that went well, but, as you know, when the playoffs come, things tighten up a little bit more, (and) the game’s more physical, so we’ll see how it gets when it’s time."
The news that Durant could make his return had fans fired up on social media.
Stay with 12Sports for the latest on Durant's possible return. The Suns and Timberwolves tip off at 7 p.m. at the Footprint Center.