"Just replace him with Jaylen Brown" - Team USA fans up in arms as Kevin Durant likely to miss friendly against Australia

Team USA reportedly will be without Kevin Durant for their upcoming international friendly game against Team Australia. He missed practice on Saturday due to a calf strain, which has prevented him from fully participating in practices with the team.

ESPN's Brian Windhorst broke the news, relaying an update from Team USA coach Steve Kerr. As he did earlier in the week prior to Team USA's friendly with Team Canada, Kerr seemed unfazed by Durant's absence.

"I know there's still a couple of weeks before we have to make a decision roster-wise," Kerr said. "So we're just taking it day by day. It's not something we've even discussed at this point because we feel good that [Durant] is going to be OK."

Assuming he winds up missing Monday's game as expected, it will mark the second straight absence for Kevin Durant. Given that, many fans have begun to call for him to be replaced on the team, considering the group phase of the Olympic games is set to begin in two weeks.

NBA fans weren't too pleased with the update from Kerr. In response to the report on X, formerly known as Twitter, the NBA community shared their reactions:

"Just replace him with Jaylen Brown! KD has been plagued with calf strains in his later career!" one wrote.

"Bring in Jaylen Brown," another added.

Some fans expressed concern for Kevin Durant.

"Going to lose out on KD and Kawhi," one wrote.

"I mean, if I’m the Suns, I’m concerned," another added.

Others wished Durant well as he looks to recover in time for the Olympics:

"GET WELL SOON KD!" one wrote.

"Wish him speedy recovery," another added.

"Get back stronger, Champ," one added.

Looking at the potential timeline for Kevin Durant's return and Team USA's upcoming schedule

While Steve Kerr has made it clear that he and Team USA haven't discussed a potential replacement for Kevin Durant, the team may soon be forced to make a decision. According to Durant, who spoke to media members earlier in the week, he is hoping to be healthy enough to play later in the week.

After the friendly against Australia on Monday, the squad will have just one day to recover before playing in the USA Basketball Showcase against Serbia in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.

The team will then play friendlies against South Sudan on Jul. 20 and Germany on Jul. 22.

Although Durant is hoping to play in Wednesday's game against Serbia, he still has yet to participate in full practice. Given that, an additional two days of rest may not be enough.

With the Olympics set to begin on Jul. 26 and Team USA set to play their first game on Jul. 28, they have a limited window to ensure Kevin Durant is healthy.

Team USA has already replaced Kawhi Leonard with Derrick White. If the team hasn't discussed a backup option for Durant, they may need to do so sooner rather than later.