NEW YORK: Ten-time NBA all star Kevin Durant shook the league in the opening moments of free agency Sunday night, announcing his signing with the Brooklyn Nets via the Instagram account of his company-owned business channel The Boardroom, on a reported four-year deal.
The news of the shock move was broken first earlier Sunday by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski who posted on his Twitter account: “Kevin Durant will announce his free agent decision tonight (Sunday US time / Monday India) on his company owned sports business network: https://www.instagram.com/theboardroom/”
As per Wojnarowski, Durant has agreed to a four-year deal worth $164 million. Durant could have gotten five years and about $221 million to remain with the Golden State Warriors, for whom he played for three stellar seasons and won two titles.
Durant, arguably the most sought-after free agent in the NBA ahead of the 2019-20 season, was reportedly entertaining offers from the Nets, Los Angeles Clippers, New York Knicks and Warriors, before opting to join the New York-based franchise.
Durant will be joined by Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan, his 2016 US Olympic teammates who also agreed to deals with the Nets on Sunday.
According to the New York Times, it was the splashiest combination of moves the Nets could have made after spending years digging out from the depths of ill-advised personnel moves and searching for a slice of the spotlight in a city long dominated by the Knicks. For Durant, 30, it will be a fresh start with a new team – a budding relationship that will require patience from both sides.
The Nets are clearly taking a big punt on Durant, who will likely miss the entire 2019-2020 season after rupturing his Achilles’ tendon in the NBA finals three weeks ago.
As per NYT, achilles’ injuries are often debilitating for elite athletes, and there is no guarantee that Durant will make a full recovery. But he is a unique talent — perhaps the most versatile scorer in the world — and the Nets are betting big.
For the record, The Boardroom is a six-episode docuseries on ESPN+ that discusses a wide range of sports and culture topics. Since Wojnarowski’s news broke, ESPN’s Brendan Kaminsky reported The Boardroom’s Instagram followers nearly tripled, with 90,000+ followers and counting.
