Rich Kleiman suggested to Brian Windhorst, “Start reporting just the facts.” The ESPN star reporter said: Kevin Durant will likely miss the U.S. Olympic team’s opening game for the 2024 Olympics against Serbia on Saturday.
Kleiman, Durant’s manager and business partner, denounced Windhorst in the X post, which was eventually deleted on Tuesday.
Durant, who is recovering from a torn right calf muscle sustained during training last month, missed the U.S.’s final exhibition game, a 92-88 win over Germany at London’s O2 Arena on Monday.
Windhorst reported later in the day that Durant would likely miss the game against Serbia.
But Kleiman told The Post that Durant was “feeling great” and looking forward to Saturday’s game in Paris.
“Yes, he could have played in London. [against Germany] “He’s scheduled to play in the game against Serbia,” Kleiman said. “He’ll be doing his best to return to the U.S. National Team and try to win a career-record fourth gold medal, already making him the all-time leading scorer for the U.S. National Team.”
“He feels great and is looking forward to going to Paris.”
USA Basketball coach Steve Kerr reportedly met with Durant ahead of Monday’s exhibition game and the decision was made that he would not take part.
Kerr, who previously coached Durant with the Warriors, said the forward will not be replaced on the 12-man roster for summer games.
“We have no plans to replace Kevin.” Carr told reporters: We were hoping he would play on Monday, but that didn’t happen.”
Kerr added he wasn’t worried about Durant’s fit with a U.S. team that went 5-0 in the two-time NBA champion’s absence, despite some close games against lesser teams.
“I coached him at Golden State and he missed games and came back really quickly,” Kerr said. “He’s who he is. He’s one of the most skilled players of all time. So I’m hopeful he’ll be back soon and I think he’ll gel with the team really quickly.”
The 35-year-old Durant, who practiced last week and increased his activity level over the weekend, is being monitored day-to-day, according to ESPN.
“Every day we saw progress.” Durant said Friday.“It’s one of those things. You just observe each day, see how you feel after doing certain exercises. What I’ll do is keep running and see what happens,” he said, according to the Associated Press.
USA Basketball has until Saturday to finalize its roster.
