Kevin Durant enters health protocols, forced to quarantine for 7 days [UPDATE]

Brooklyn Nets superstar Kevin Durant has been placed in health and safety protocols and is listed as out for Tuesday’s game vs. the Utah Jazz. At this point, we’re unsure if Durant was placed in protocols due to contact tracing or something else related to Covid-19. For now, we know that he’s out against the Jazz and it’s unclear what the timeline for a return would look like. This is a tough blow for Brooklyn, which has lost four of five games since opening the season 2-0.

Update: Shams Charania is saying Durant will need to quarantine for 7 days due to contact tracing/exposure to Covid-19. So that means if Durant started his quarantine on Monday, he’d be in line to miss the next four games or the Nets and be eligible to return on Jan. 12 vs. the Denver Nuggets. Remember, Durant tested positive for Covid-19 back in May.

Durant has had a pretty great return to the court and start with the Nets despite the record. He’s averaging 28.2 points, 7 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game through 6 games and has shot up in the MVP race early on. This could put a snag on Durant’s quest for his second MVP award since any missed time is a negative in a shortened season. The Nets will have a big void to fill with Durant out of the lineup on Tuesday.

With Spencer Dinwiddie out for the year, the Nets entered Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot into the starting lineup. With Durant out, the Nets depth will be tested again. We saw Caris LeVert start when Kyrie Irving and KD were both out earlier in the season. Brooklyn could opt for LeVert to start or throw in someone like Taurean Prince or Jeff Green. This would keep LeVert coming off the bench as the main scorer for the second unit.