Kevin Durant Announces Plans to Sign Max Deal With Nets on Instagram
Former Warriors forward Kevin Durant will sign a max deal with the Nets once the free agent moratorum period ends July 6, he announced Sunday on an Instagram account associated with "The Boardroom," which airs episodes on ESPN+ and is executively produced by Durant.
The news was first reported by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski who wrote Durant would be signing a four-year, $164 million deal. Durant reportedly met with Warriors general manager Bob Myers on Sunday and informed him of his decision to leave Golden State.
Wojnarowski also reported the Nets will sign Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan.
While the superstar was expected to join the Knicks early on, the Nets became favorites with Irving also expected to go to Brooklyn. Wojnarowski reported Irving will sign a four-year, $141 million deal. The Nets went 42–40 this season, losing to the 76ers in the first round of the playoffs. Brooklyn star D'Angelo Russell is expected to leave the Nets, with the Timberwolves at the top of his list of teams.
The star, who will be 31 before the start of next season, declined his player option with Golden State to become a free agent, and Wojnarowski reported Durant and manager Rich Kleiman were in New York to evaluate options. Durantoriginally signed with the Warriors in 2016 on a two-year deal and had a player option worth $31.5 million to remain with Golden State.
The move comes after Durant underwent surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles. He exited Game 5 of the NBA Finals with an injury and is now expected to miss up to a year recovering. Despite the injury, several teams still reportedly expressed interest in signing the superstar to a max contract. Those teams included the Knicks and Clippers, while the Warriors also expressed a desire to resign Durant.
Before his Game 5 appearance, the 30-year-old Durant had not played for Golden State since injuring his calf against the Rockets on May 9. He recorded 11 points in Game 5 before exiting.
This season, Durant averaged 26 points, 6.4 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game.
Durant was picked at No. 2 by the Seattle SuperSonics in the 2007 NBA draft, and he played nine seasons in Oklahoma City before signing with the Warriors in 2016. There he helped the team win back-to-back championships in 2017 and 2018, earning two straight Finals MVP awards. He is a 10-time All-Star, the league's 2014 MVP and a four-time NBA scoring leader.
