Kevin Durant is now using a scooter, promises not to rush in his return from surgery

After Derrick Rose basically (and understandably) ducked extensively speaking with most media while sitting out the 2012-13 season with an ACL tear, the NBA changed its rules regarding the media availability required for its seriously injured players. Though Kevin Durant’s right foot fracture won’t shelve him for the entire 2014-15 season, it will put him out for most of the exhibition season and at least the first month of the regular season – and it is a serious injury.

This is why Durant spoke at a press conference on Tuesday morning, one that was technically nationally televised on NBA TV. It was his first showing in front of the cameras since leaving his team’s second exhibition game nearly two weeks ago. In a move that was probably whimsical to most but worrying to Thunder fans, this is how Durant literally rolled:

Here’s a snippet from Durant’s presser:

You’ll recall that Durant was reportedly willing to stave off surgery and potentially attempt to play once the fracture healed on its own, and while some medical lines of thinking point out that taller men with this sort of fracture can enjoy a full heal without going under the knife, it’s a relief that Durant followed through and got the surgery.

The reigning NBA MVP went on to say that he is not going to rush things, which in the interim isn’t the happiest news for Thunder fan, but as a whole this should be exactly what they should want to hear. The West is absolutely stacked, yet again, and losing the conference’s best player for at least the first six weeks of the season will do damage to the Thunder’s playoff hopes. Especially when you factor in that they’ll play 12 playoff teams plus the rebuilt Cavaliers and dangerous Suns between the start of the season and Christmas.

Once the playoffs hit, though, the West becomes a coin flip once again. San Antonio, the team that made the two-time defending champion Heat look foolish in the Finals last June, had to go seven games to down the Dallas Mavericks in the first round. The three other first round matchups were basically played to a draw as well, and while home court advantage helps, it hardly guarantees anything in this ridiculously deep conference.

That’s only working under the assumption that the Thunder will lose home court advantage as Durant sits. If he returns after the Christmas game – which would be extending his “six to eight week recovery”-scenario by about a fortnight – the Thunder would still be getting in-prime production from Kevin Durant for potentially 52 games. That means quite a bit, and though the Thunder isn’t as deep as they were in years’ past, Russell Westbrook could go bonkers in a good way during Durant’s absence. Think, “Penny Hardaway’s MVP-level run with Shaq out in 1995”-bonkers.

At the press conference, Durant acknowledged that he told Westbrook that he didn’t have to change his game to adapt to his teammate’s absence, while also dropping this:

“It’s a win-win, I’m learning a lot while I’m out and my teammates are getting opportunities,” Durant said.

The fracture itself is not a win, but Durant is correct in pointing to teachable moments here.

Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks is a notorious stickler when it comes to rotations, and in relative terms Westbrook has barely played as a pro without Durant on the court with him. With the ball in Russell’s hands, the Thunder could develop new quirks that could make them more and more dangerous in April, May and possibly June. Not so much in terms of finding new ways for Westbrook to score, but in finding ways for him to find others. To not go into each set with an endgame in mind, but to think on the fly and react to what the defense gives you.

The bigger, more important “win” here is the idea that Kevin Durant is taking his time with this.

There has never been a player like Kevin Durant, asked to work through screens on the perimeter like a guard while possessing a body that would have put him in the low post as recently as 15 years ago. The Thunder haven’t been incorrect in their use of KD, that’s just how the man plays – a fracture like this from a man who has consistently played deep into the playoffs while working with Team USA in the summer makes sense, though. And it makes sense to take the slow route to recovery before asking a nearly 7-foot tall man to run around like Ray Allen until spring and maybe summer.

It’s good to see Kevin Durant, at possibly his lowest point, acknowledge as much.

– – – – – – –

Kelly Dwyer is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KDonhoops