Kevin Durant

Kevin Durant to sign with Nets

The 30-year-old star will sign a four-year, max deal with the Nets, it was confirmed via his company The Boardroom.

Durant ruptured his Achilles in Game 5 of the NBA Finals with the Golden State Warriors and is expected to miss all of next season.

Fellow star Kyrie Irving, Durant's close friend, will reportedly agree to a contract with the Nets on Sunday.

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Durant a game-time decision

The Warriors star has been sidelined since suffering a calf strain in Game 5 of the Western Conference semi-finals on May 9.

He missed the entirety of the Western Conference Finals and has been absent for every game of the NBA Finals series with the Toronto Raptors, in which the Warriors face elimination after going down 3-1.

Durant was listed as questionable on Sunday after being cleared to practice for the first time since the injury.

He went through a full shootaround ahead of Monday's game before receiving further treatment on his calf.

Durant out of Finals opener

Durant has been out since straining his calf in Golden State's Game 5 win over the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference semi-finals. 

The Warriors went on to close out Houston in six games before sweeping the Portland Trail Blazers in the Western Conference Finals.

Durant was having a stellar postseason before the injury. He averaged 34.2 points and 5.2 rebounds while shooting 51.3 per cent from the field in 11 playoff games.

And Kerr confirmed that two-time NBA Finals MVP Durant will not be fit to play Thursday's opener.

Golden State Warriors star Kevin Durant won't be ready for start of NBA finals

The two-time reigning finals MVP has yet to return to on-court work while recovering from a strained right calf.

Big man DeMarcus Cousins might be healthy for Golden State's series opener against either Milwaukee or Toronto.

"Potentially," coach Steve Kerr said Thursday [Friday NZ time], "but it's up in the air."

The team re-evaluated both players Thursday and they are expected to be ready at some point during Golden State's fifth straight finals.

Three Warriors fined for comments

The NBA announced on Tuesday that Green has been fined $35,000, Curry $25,000 and Durant $15,000.

Green was punished for Twitter posts which may have been referencing Tim Donaghy, who was involved in a betting scandal that rocked the sport.

He simply dropped the initials "TD" right before "MK.", which could have been in reference to official Marat Kogut - who was working the game against the Timberwolves.

Durant specifically mentioned Kogut after the match.

Durant staying with Golden State

The Warriors officially confirmed the 29-year-old would be staying with the franchise on Saturday, though terms of the deal were not released.

Since ending his spell with the Oklahoma City Thunder to join Golden State, Durant has secured two straight Finals MVP awards while helping them claim back-to-back titles.

Warriors general manager Bob Myers told reporters in mid-June he would offer the nine-time All -Star whatever contract he wanted.

Durant guides Warriors to 3-1 lead

Durant – the 2014 MVP – led all scorers with 38 points on 15-of-27 shooting with nine rebounds and five assists as Golden State topped New Orleans 118-92 on Sunday.

The Warriors went with their vaunted death line-up of Durant, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala and every player registered a plus/minus of plus-21 points or better as Golden State took a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Durant on James's level

James is a three-time NBA champion and NBA Finals MVP, while the 32-year-old has been named MVP on four occasions – not to mention his 13 All-Star appearances.

The former Miami Heat forward is regarded as arguably the greatest basketballer of all time,

Durant is still some way off matching James' long list of achievements with just one championship, Finals MVP and NBA MVP to his name, but the Warriors forward feels he is worthy of being mentioned in the same breath.

Curry, Durant stick up for Lonzo Ball

Ball has averaged 8.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 7.1 assists so far this season, shooting 31 per cent from the field and 24.5 per cent from three-point range.

Curry did not really struggle his rookie season, at least not for long. Selected number seven overall in the 2009 draft, he averaged 17.5 points and 5.9 assists per game, while shooting 44 per cent from three-point range.

Ball has been criticised and questioned for some of his performances, but Curry said the 20-year-old just needed time.

Durant: Curry played like a big dog

Curry put up just 14 points in a disappointing game four of the Finals at Quicken Loans Arena – he only scored fewer points in eight games across the regular season and playoffs – but claimed a 34-point double-double as the Warriors clinched a 4-1 series win on Monday.

His response earned high praise from team-mate Durant, who has been impressed by how much he much he is willing to sacrifice for the team.