Team USA, despite a few hiccups in their preparations for the 2024 Paris Olympics, managed to go unbeaten in five exhibition games, which is about everything they could have hoped for. However, there is a major concern for them with only a little under a week to go before the Olympic Games begin. At the moment, Kevin Durant is still recuperating from a calf injury that has kept him out for all of Team USA's exhibition games.

The good news is that Durant still has five days to recover so that he could suit up in Team USA's opening group stage contest against a Serbie team led by Nikola Jokic. However, the bad news is that five days may not be enough, if the latest report from ESPN's Brian Windhorst is any indication.

“I think [Team USA is] gonna be playing Serbia without Kevin Durant… Steve Kerr met with him today and they decided he needs more time with that strained calf. … They believe he will be able to play. But the hopes are dim that he's gonna be able to do it against Serbia,” Windhorst said on SportsCenter.

Given Kevin Durant's injury history, the Team USA brass will be very “cautious” with how they handle this injury, as per Windhorst. Could this open the door for another injury replacement to join the team? Perhaps. But the Team USA management reportedly won't be going that route.

“One thing Steve Kerr made very clear, he will not be replaced on the roster. … They could fly in a replacement [for KD], that's not gonna happen. Kevin Durant is going to be on this team,” Windhorst added.

Team USA's second group stage game won't be until 3 PM E.T. on July 31, so the hope is that Kevin Durant will be healthy enough to suit up against South Sudan, if only to give him a few minutes just to get him up to game speed.

Team USA can weather Kevin Durant's absence

Team USA is heading into the 2024 Paris Olympics with one of its most stacked rosters in recent history, which means that the burden to lead the team doesn't exactly fall on Kevin Durant's shoulders like it did back in 2016 and 2021.

In 2016 and 2021, Durant was the clear-cut best player on the team and the undisputed leader. This time around, with LeBron James on the roster, Durant can take his sweet time in his recovery from injury. After all, the last time that Durant sustained a calf strain and rushed his return, he ended up tearing his Achilles tendon.

While Durant is adamant that this time is different, hurrying the process will help no one, especially when Team USA has more than capable players to fill the minutes.

Jayson Tatum figures to be one of the main candidates to start alongside James, Stephen Curry, and Joel Embiid, while the likes of Devin Booker, Jrue Holiday, and Anthony Edwards could be called upon as well depending on the matchup. Against Serbia during the exhibition, Team USA started Tatum and Holiday alongside the MVP trio, and this could be the same strategy that they deploy.