OKLAHOMA CITY -- Fully healthy and medically cleared for the first time since having a third foot surgery in March, Kevin Durant is ready and excited to open training camp for his ninth season on Tuesday.

"I feel great," Durant said. "I'm ready to go. I did everything necessary in order for me to be back on the court. It's an exciting time for Thunder basketball and myself."

Durant played in only 27 games last season, mostly a result of three surgeries to repair a Jones fracture in his right foot, the latest being a bone graft procedure. The 26-year-old is said to be completely healthy, but there are always concerns of re-injury, especially for a 6-foot-11 player. But the 2014 MVP said he's approaching this season without the worry of injury hovering over him.

"You never want to live in fear," he said. "I love the game so much, but if anything were to happen again, I'd just have to live with it. I think if I'd have went out there and with doubt in my mind, something would've happened. I was always taught if I'm on the court, I'm all right."

Durant's media session lasted only seven minutes, and he fielded only one direct question related to his pending free agency. Asked if he wants Thunder fans to effectively beg him to stay or just back off, Durant said he's not concerning himself with that.

"That's something I can't control," he said. "I'm not one of those guys looking for praise or looking for people to lobby me or whatever. I've never looked for stuff like that. I just enjoy playing the game of basketball and I enjoy these wonderful fans here and I just want to give them the best version of me I can. That's all I can do. I can't control everything else."

Durant recently joined The Players' Tribune as a "deputy publisher," and said in a press release announcing the move that he looked forward to having a place to "feel safe that nothing will be distorted." Durant made headlines during last season's All-Star break when he took a shot at the media, saying, "You guys really don't know s---."

"I know you guys have to do a job, but sometimes our message isn't portrayed the way we want it to," Durant said. "I think that will be a cool outlet. I'm not using it just to bash the media or just get random stories out. I want to do cool things to touch people a little differently than I would in a press-conference setting. So it's not, 'Oh, I'm not going to talk to you guys and put all my stories there,' but there will definitely be some cool things to show my personality."