Kevin Durant Just Blew Up the NBA, Again, By Moving to Brooklyn

Don’t cry for the Warriors. Definitely cry for the Knicks.

Despite suffering an Achilles injury that’ll keep him off the court for an entire NBA season, Kevin Durant will sign a $US164 contract that’ll see him join the Brooklyn Nets for the next four years.

It was announced on the Instagram page for his business, The Boardroom, though word had already spread much earlier in the day.

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by The Boardroom (@theboardroom) on Jun 30, 2019 at 3:02pm PDT

Kyrie Irving, after a fruitless year in Boston, will join him in Brooklyn. Combined with fellow incoming free agent DeAndre Jordan and a decent bench that managed an NBA Playoffs appearance on their own, the Brooklyn Nets becomes a superteam of sorts that now rivals Durant’s former Golden State Warriors.

Even before his injury, it had long been rumoured that Durant was planning a move to New York City. However, Knicks fans (who had endured a record-worst season) had hoped that KD would be heading to Madison Square Garden, and bringing Irving with him, after seeing them connect during the NBA All-Star weekend in February.

Alas, they’re heading to the hipper part of town instead, leaving the Knicks vulnerable to merciless Twitter dunking.

Live look at New York Knicks fans. pic.twitter.com/FNG6hXHRxp

— SportsNation (@SportsNation) July 1, 2019

Knicks on way to land KD and kawhi pic.twitter.com/DJeNsPEXQf

— Odellavedova Facts (@DellyFact) July 1, 2019

The Knicks after they didn’t get Kawhi, Kyrie or Kevin Durant. pic.twitter.com/XoTg4wUx1G

— Cameron Grant (@coolcam101) July 1, 2019

Durant’s tenure with the Warriors was bittersweet. He joined them in 2016, after they suffered a Finals loss to LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers.

Durant led the Warriors to two consecutive Finals victories, earning Finals MVP both times, but he couldn’t shake his reputation as a ring-chaser who had crowded an already-established bench.

The extremely-online Durant wasn't impervious to those criticisms (dude loves his burner Twitter accounts), so it made sense for him to want to start afresh elsewhere.

However, he’ll have to watch the Nets succeed (or fail) without him first, as he recovers from one of the most devastating injuries any player can face. And if the Nets prove themselves to be competitive in 2019 – 20, he may again be accused of bandwagon-jumping when he finally joins them in late 2020/early 2021. Then again, he’ll collect $US41 million for this year in rehab alone, so that should lift his spirits over the next 12 months.

The Warriors, meanwhile, still have Steph Curry, and will likely keep Klay Thompson (who is himself recovering from a torn ACL), but their Finals reign was already ended by Kawhi Leonard’s Toronto Raptors in June. A new era begins with the coming NBA season, thanks to the new-look Nets, LeBron’s Lakers (which recently scored Anthony Davis) and a shifting free agency market (including Kawhi) that could remake the Clippers and the Celtics into true competitors.

The Knicks, unfortunately, are now facing yet another year at the bottom of the ladder. RIP their mentions.

Knicks fans be like pic.twitter.com/qvBO5dFCjd

— The Fake ESPN (@TheFakeESPN) July 1, 2019

Header Image: Facebook (Kevin Durant)