Nets GM Sean Marks not expecting Kevin Durant back this season

Hold off on all that optimism that Nets newly acquired superstar Keving Durant will return this season. Meeting with reporters at the team's HSS Practice Facility, General manager Sean Marks admitted that the team is operating under the assumption that Durant won't be part of the team's plans this upcoming season.

"I've been excited to see, I think we all have, how he's approached this rehab, which has been great, very refreshing and energizing for the whole group," Marks said. "But at the end of the day, this is a long-term plan here. This was never about this next season. This is about getting an elite athlete back to elite physical shape on the court, whatever that takes."

The fact that the Nets signed both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant to four-year deals told fans that this offseason wasn't the shortsighted type that fans endured six years ago when Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Jason Terry landed in Brooklyn. As far as Durant is concerned, Marks notes that the organization may need to protect the star from returning from the injury too soon.

"I think you're looking at one of the great competitors out there, so I think I would be remiss if I said no, he probably doesn't want to play," Marks said. "I think it's obvious he wants to play, but I think there's more at stake here.

When all is said and done, the Nets brass, Durant and his team, along with team doctors will need to reach a consenus on a timeline for his return from injury. As much as the Nets would like to claim their first NBA championship in franchise history, Marks isn't in the business of skipping any steps of jeopardizing the health of his top player to fast-forward that process.

"This is, again, a long-term approach. There are a lot of people with a lot of sweat equity in this from the rehab perspective and so forth. And so I think it'll be a group that makes the decision, and obviously Kevin included as to when and how that return is made."