Magic rookie Aaron Gordon: Kevin Durant returned from injury too soon

Orlando Magic rookie forward Aaron Gordon says he believes that Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant returned too soon from his foot injury.

Gordon, who was selected fourth in the 2014 NBA draft, underwent surgery in November to repair a fractured fifth metatarsal in his left foot and missed 32 games.

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Durant had surgery to repair a Jones fracture in his right foot, and was originally supposed to miss six weeks.

He missed the season’s first 17 games and played in just 27 games overall before being shut down for the season after having bone graft surgery on the fifth metatarsal of his right foot earlier this week.

Gordon was asked on SiriusXM NBA Radio if he believes that Durant returned too quickly from his injury.

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“Yes, without a doubt. Once 17 games passed in the Magic season, I was struggling. I was barely able to run…feeling it in my foot every time I stepped…even when I came back…after the 4th game, it was sore,” Gordon said. “I sat out 31 games, KD sat out 17, so it didn’t make sense to me.”

Gordon is averaging 4.9 points and 3.1 rebounds in 15 minutes per game this season for Orlando (22-53), which has lost four games in a row and has the third-worst record in the Eastern Conference. - Scooby Axson

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