The Nets don’t plan to deviate from their cautious plan with T.J. Warren or overload his minutes just because Kevin Durant is sidelined with a knee injury.

Warren has averaged 19.9 minutes per game in 16 appearances after missing most of the previous two seasons due to a foot injury suffered with the Pacers in 2020.

“Again, I said from the beginning, the thing is keeping T.J. healthy to the end of the year. Do I see him playing 40 minutes? No, not happening,” Nets coach Jacque Vaughn said after Wednesday’s practice. “We’ll continue to see how we’re going to manage the rotations — who starts, who’s the first sub, what the second group looks like; all of that changes.

“So we’ll figure out what is best for the group. … But no, T.J. won’t be playing 40 minutes.”

Durant is expected to miss several weeks with a sprained MCL in his right knee suffered Sunday in Miami. Yuta Watanabe, Cam Thomas and Markieff Morris also could see expanded roles in his absence, depending on matchups, Vaughn said.

The 29-year-old Warren has scored 9.9 points per game since returning to action Dec. 2. He is shooting 52.7 percent from the field, including 34.5 percent from 3-point range.

Ben Simmons is averaging just 7.7 points, but he leads the Nets in assists (6.0) and steals (1.4) per game. He also is tied with Durant for second on the team in rebounding with 6.7 per appearance.

Asked what the next step is for the three-time All-Star’s progression, Vaughn replied: “So the next step is to play every possession with force. The beginning of a possession all the way to the end of it, and so that becomes a habit that you consistently [do] from possession to possession and game to game. The pace that he’s going to create for us, the easy shots that he has to create for us because of the pace, it’s a necessity. And [I’m] looking forward to it … because we definitely need that with Kevin being out.”