Kevin Durant plans to play the 1, 4 and 5 for the Nets this season

Kevin Durant has primarily played one position during his career, but he’s ready to play multiple positions for the Brooklyn Nets.

The NBA has moved away from strict roles as deemed by position. In this world Kevin Durant, listed at 6-foot-10, has operated as a small forward throughout his career. But according to Malika Andrews of ESPN, Durant expects to see some time as a “small-ball 4 or 5” and “bring the ball up too” in his first season with the Brooklyn Nets.

As much as traditional position labels remain relevant, Durant’s Basketball Reference page shows a shift in his minutes split toward power forward during his time with the Golden State Warriors. Golden State’s famed (and very effective) small-ball lineup had Durant at power forward and Draymond Green at center. New Nets head coach Steve Nash, with his roots in the Phoenix Suns’ system under Mike D’Antoni (who is on his staff), will surely be open to trying a lot of lineup combinations.

Of course, Durant is coming off missing all of last season with a torn Achilles. His minutes will definitely be closely monitored early in the season. But even as he works his way back to full strength, he’ll be a matchup problem on the offensive end as he’s always been.

Will Kevin Durant get exposed defensively?

The problem may come on the other end of the floor. Durant has never been a defensive stud, as measured by traditional or advanced numbers, but when you’re scoring 25-30 points a game simply not being a detriment on the other end will suffice. Durant’s gets after the defensive glass while blocking a shot here and there, and delivers some positive value (40.8 Defensive Win Shares for his career)

When he’s playing center or power forward, opposing coaches should not hesitate to heavily involve Durant’s man on the offensive end. Testing his movement ability coming off a torn Achilles’ will be a mandatory part of a game plan against the Nets until Durant shows he’s up the task.

But if Durant is delivering on the offensive end, his possible liability defensively will be less important as adjustments are made. The idea of him playing multiple positions is just another piece of the equation that will make the Nets interesting this season.