BASKETBALL
The Brooklyn Nets expect to wait a year before Kevin Durant plays for them.
General Manager Sean Marks said Tuesday the Nets are planning this season without the injured All-Star. He added Durant will have a say in determining when he’s ready.
“With Kevin, I think what we’re going to say is the expectations are that he’ll be out for the year,” Marks said.
Durant is recovering from surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles tendon. He was injured while playing for Golden State in the NBA finals, then left the Warriors to sign with the Nets in July.
At the time, the Nets left open the possibility that Durant could play this season. That’s still possible, but Marks isn’t banking on it.
“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.”
Durant returned from an injured calf muscle he suffered in the postseason for Game 5 of the NBA finals, but lasted only 12 minutes before leaving with a more severe injury.
• Kyrie Irving was hit with an elbow to his face during a pickup game Tuesday morning, prompting the Nets point guard to visit with team doctors.
GM Sean Marks witnessed the injury and downplayed the severity, saying the team was just doing its due diligence.
Irving was accompanied to the doctors by Coach Kenny Atkinson, who coincidentally was scheduled to conduct his preseason press conference Tuesday afternoon and had to cancel.
• The NBA fined the Milwaukee Bucks $50,000 over a comment GM Jon Horst made about the team’s plans to offer league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo a “supermax” extension.
The league says Horst violated league rules “governing the timing of discussions regarding future player contracts and permissible commitments to players.” The Bucks cannot publicly commit to offering anyone a supermax until the summer following that player’s seventh season.
• Washington Wizards forward Troy Brown Jr. injured his left calf and is expected to miss about a month.
The Wizards said Brown strained his calf a day earlier during what the team called a routine workout.
HOCKEY
NHL: The Toronto Maple Leafs released veteran goalie Michal Neuvirth, meaning Michael Hutchinson has likely won the backup job.
Neuvirth was vying for the No. 2 spot behind Frederik Andersen. But he played just two periods during training camp because of an unspecified injury.
• Vancouver Canucks forward Brock Boeser and defenseman Oscar Fantenberg are in concussion protocol.
• The St. Louis Blues acquired All-Star defenseman Justin Faulk from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for defenseman Joel Edmundson and a prospect.
The Blues also announced Faulk had signed a seven-year contract extension worth $45.5 million that goes into effect following this season with the defending Stanley Cup champions.
SOCCER
SPANISH LEAGUE: Lionel Messi has been substituted at halftime of his first start for Barcelona since a long injury layoff, after apparently picking up a new knock.
Messi hurt his left leg less than half an hour into the match against Villarreal at Camp Nou Stadium. The playmaker left the field and doctors attended to his leg for few minutes before he eventually returned and finished the half.
Messi didn’t return for the second half.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: UEFA picked St. Petersburg, Munich and London to host the Champions League finals from 2021 through 2023.
AUTO RACING
NASCAR: Christopher Bell was promoted to NASCAR’s top series and will drive for Leavine Family Racing in 2020.
Leavine is an affiliate of Joe Gibbs Racing, which along with Toyota has Bell under contract. The logjam of drivers at the Cup level for Gibbs forced Bell to be farmed out to Leavine’s single-car operation.
TENNIS
ZHUHAI CHAMPIONSHIPS: Andy Murray won his first tour-level match since January, beating American opponent Tennys Sandgren 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-1 at Zhuhai, China.
Murray, the former top-ranked player who had hip surgery in January, served 13 aces, won 80 percent of his service points and was not broken.
WUHAN OPEN: Top-ranked Ash Barty came from a set down to beat Caroline Garcia of France 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 in the second round at Wuhan, China.
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