ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Team USA has moved halfway around the world but is still on hold with star Kevin Durant, who missed practice again Saturday with a calf strain and is unlikely to play when the Americans face Australia in a friendly on Monday.
Coach Steve Kerr has been publicly downplaying any concerns about the injury but pushed back his timetable before leading the team in practice.
“I know we're still a couple weeks away from making a roster decision,” Kerr said. “So we're just going to take it day by day.”
For weeks, Team USA had a contingency plan in place if Kawhi Leonard couldn’t play in the Olympics while recovering from a knee injury, and lined up Derrick White as the likely replacement in early June. The Americans made that decision Wednesday, releasing Leonard and putting White on the roster at the conclusion of training camp in Las Vegas.
If the team has a backup plan for Durant, it's keeping it secret.
“It's not something we've discussed at this point because we feel good that… [Durant] “Everything's going to be OK,” Kerr said.
Durant said earlier this week that he was hopeful he had recovered enough from the calf injury he suffered two weeks ago to be able to play during the Middle East's warm-up games, which include a game Wednesday against Serbia, the team against which the United States will open its Olympic campaign in France later this month.
White was scheduled to fly to Abu Dhabi on Saturday and is expected to practice for the first time on Sunday.
Before Saturday’s training session, the U.S. host to the UAE, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, the chairman of Manchester City soccer club and an avid NBA fan, addressed the U.S. team and welcomed them. Al Mubarak is the CEO and managing director of Mubadala, the emirate’s $300 billion sovereign wealth fund that is involved in a multiyear deal with the NBA and USA Basketball that is bringing high-profile games to the region.
A huge Los Angeles Lakers fan who watches many of their games, Al Mubarak reluctantly congratulated opposing Boston Celtics players Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday on their NBA championship.
