Durant, Irving make Nets talk of the town in New York

NEW YORK (AP) — Just three seasons ago, the Brooklyn Nets were the worst team in the NBA.

On Sunday, they were the story of the league.

They agreed to deals with superstars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving as part of a sensational start to free agency, giving the longtime No. 2 team in New York top billing in the Big Apple.

They landed two of the top players available, both perennial All-Stars and NBA champions, and they weren’t finished. They also added center DeAndre Jordan, who played with Durant and Irving on the 2016 U.S. Olympic team that won the gold medal, and veteran swingman Garrett Temple.

It was such a powerful victory that the crosstown Knicks even put out a statement acknowledging their fans’ disappointment, just three hours after shopping season had started.

And it was even more remarkable given where the Nets were not long ago.

An ill-fated trade with Boston in 2013, when the Nets acquired Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce in hopes of competing for a championship but didn’t even get out of the second round, cost them years of high draft picks and contributed to them becoming the worst team in the league.

They bottomed out at 20-62 in 2016-17, when Durant won NBA Finals MVP in his first season with Golden State after the Warriors beat Irving’s Cleveland Cavaliers for the title.

Now those players will try to win one together.

Irving, who grew up in New Jersey, said in a video posted Monday by his representation at Roc Nation Sports that he always wanted to play back home. Part of the video was shot with Irving on the Brooklyn Bridge.

“I wouldn’t change anything about this journey, at all,” Irving said. “It’s brought me back here and that’s home, and home is where my family is. Home is where I want my legacy to continue.”

Roc Nation, which announced Sunday it is now representing Irving, said he had agreed to a four-year, maximum contract .

He might have to wait a year to play with Durant, who could miss next season while recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon. But with Irving taking controls of the offense and a promising young core around him, the Nets should be a playoff team, even while Durant recovers.

The Nets got back to the playoffs last season after going 42-40, stamping themselves as a team on the rise. Brooklyn might be able to keep rising all the way to the top after Sunday’s moves.

Even after winning titles in his first two seasons with the Warriors, there was season-long speculation that Durant might leave. But much of that speculation had been focused on the Knicks, who had more than $70 million and the ability to sign two top free agents after trading Kristaps Porzingis during the season.

The Nets felt confident with what they could offer, from their roster, to their medical staff, to their facilities. And when they made a cap-clearing trade last month, they became even more attractive by freeing up salary to bring in two stars.

Irving wasn’t expected to be one of them a few months ago, after he’d said last fall he planned to re-sign in Boston. But despite his good stats it was a bad season for him with the Celtics, who were considered an Eastern Conference favorite but lost in the second round.

Irving became frustrated and reconsidered his plans, deciding his future was not in Boston, but in Brooklyn. Now he’ll play for the team he watched while growing up in New Jersey, where the Nets played before moving to Barclays Center in 2012.

Even when the Nets had better teams, the Knicks still got more attention and felt as if they would always be the marquee team in the city.

That changed Sunday in a New York minute.

The Nets were not only the talk of the town but of the whole league, and when the Knicks were shut out early on, they took the rare step of commenting about their situation.

“While we understand that some Knicks fans could be disappointed with tonight’s news, we continue to be upbeat and confident in our plans to rebuild the Knicks to compete for championships in the future, through the draft, targeted free agents and continuing to build around our core of young players,” Knicks President Steve Mills said in a statement.

The Knicks eventually agreed to deals with forwards Julius Randle, Taj Gibson and Bobby Portis, so they did get something.

Just nowhere near as much as the Nets.

NBA free agent, trade agreements

• Kevin Durant agrees to four-year, $164 million contract with the Brooklyn Nets.

• Kyrie Irving agrees to a four-year, $142 million contract with the Brooklyn Nets.

• Kemba Walker agrees to a four-year, $141 million contract with the Boston Celtics.

• D’Angelo Russell agrees to a four-year, $117 million contract with the Golden State Warriors as part of a sign-and-trade with the Nets. Treveon Graham and Shabazz Napier are going to Golden State from Brooklyn. Golden State is sending Napier, Graham and cash to Minnesota. The Warriors are sending Andre Iguodala and a future first-round pick to Memphis.

• Al Horford agrees to a four-year, $109 million contract with the Philadelphia 76ers.

• Klay Thompson agrees to a five-year, $190 million contract with the Golden State Warriors.

• Khris Middleton agrees to a five-year, $178 million contract with the Milwaukee Bucks.

• Kristaps Porzingis agrees to a five-year, $158 million contract with the Dallas Mavericks.

• Nikola Vucevic agrees to a four-year, $100 million contract with the Orlando Magic.

• Jamal Murray agrees to a five-year, $170 million contract extension with the Denver Nuggets.

• Harrison Barnes agrees to a four-year, $85 million contract with the Sacramento Kings.

• Marc Gasol exercises his $25.6 million player option with the Toronto Raptors.

• Paul Millsap has his $30 million team option exercised by the Denver Nuggets.

• Brook Lopez agrees to a four-year, $52 million contract with the Milwaukee Bucks.

• JJ Redick agrees to a two-year, $26.5 million contract with the New Orleans Pelicans.

• Patrick Beverley agrees to a three-year, $40 million contract with the Los Angeles Clippers.

• DeAndre Jordan agrees to a four-year, $40 million contract with the Brooklyn Nets.

• Nikola Mirotic agrees to a deal with Barcelona in the Euroleague.

• Derrick Rose agrees to a two-year, $15 million contract with the Detroit Pistons.

• Jonas Valanciunas agrees to a three-year, $45 million contract with the Memphis Grizzlies.

• Gerald Green agrees to a one-year deal to return to the Houston Rockets.

• Terrence Ross agrees to a four-year, $54 million contract to return to the Orlando Magic.

• Al-Farouq Aminu agrees to a three-year, $29 million contract with the Orlando Magic.

• Ricky Rubio agrees to a three-year, $51 million contract with the Phoenix Suns.

• Trevor Ariza agrees to a two-year, $25 million contract with the Sacramento Kings.

• Malcolm Brogdon agrees to a four-year, $85 million contract with the Indiana Pacers. Indiana will send a first-round pick and two future second-round picks to Milwaukee as part of the sign-and-trade for Brogdon.

• Bojan Bogdanovic agrees to a four-year, $73 million contract with the Utah Jazz.

• Thaddeus Young agrees to three-year, $41 million contract with the Chicago Bulls.

• Rodney Hood agrees to two-year, $16 million contract to return to the Portland Trail Blazers.

• Thomas Bryant agrees to three-year, $35 million contract with the Washington Wizards.

• Tobias Harris agrees to five-year, $180 million contract to return to the Philadelphia 76ers.

• Mike Scott agrees to two-year, $9.8 million contract to return to the Philadelphia 76ers.

• Jeremy Lamb agrees to three-year, $31.5 million contract with the Indiana Pacers.

• DeMarre Carroll agrees to a two-year, $13 million contract with the San Antonio Spurs.

• Nerlens Noel agrees to a deal to return to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

• Julius Randle agrees to a three-year, $63 million contract with the New York Knicks.

• George Hill agrees to three-year, $29 million contract to return to the Milwaukee Bucks.

• Taj Gibson agrees to a two-year, $20 million contract with the New York Knicks.

• Ed Davis agrees to a two-year, $10 million contract with the Utah Jazz.

• Mike Muscala agrees to deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

• Mario Hezonjia agrees to a one-year, league-minimum deal with the Portland Trail Blazers.

• Robin Lopez agrees to a deal with the Milwaukee Bucks.

• Bobby Portis agrees to a two-year, $31 million contract with the New York Knicks.

• Reggie Bullock agrees to a two-year, $21 million contract with the New York Knicks.

• Cory Joseph agrees to a three-year, $37 million contract with the Sacramento Kings.

• Ish Smith agrees to a two-year, $12 million contract with the Washington Wizards.

• Tomas Satoransky agrees to a three-year, $30 million contract with the Chicago Bulls as part of a sign-and-trade with the Washington Wizards.

• Wayne Ellington agrees to a two-year, $16 million contract with the New York Knicks.

• Michael Carter-Williams agrees to a one-year deal with the Orlando Magic.

• Seth Curry agrees to a four-year, $32 million contract with the Dallas Mavericks.

• Austin Rivers agrees to a two-year deal with the Houston Rockets.

• Troy Daniels agrees to a one-year, $2.1 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers.

• Elfrid Payton agrees to a two-year, $16 million contract with the New York Knicks.

• Maxi Kleber agrees to a four-year, $35 million contract with the Dallas Mavericks.

• Enes Kanter agrees to a two-year, $10 million contract with the Boston Celtics.

• JJ Barea agrees to a one-year, veteran’s minimum deal with the Dallas Mavericks.

• Richaun Holmes agrees to a two-year, $10 million contract with the Sacramento Kings.

• Edmond Sumner agrees to a three-year deal with the Indiana Pacers.

• Wesley Mathews agrees to a deal with the Milwaukee Bucks.

• Frank Kaminsky agrees to a two-year, $10 million deal with the Phoenix Suns.

• Matt Thomas agrees to a three-year, $4.2 million deal with the Toronto Raptors. He comes over from the Euroleague.

• Kevon Looney agrees to a three-year, $15 million deal to return to the Golden State Warriors.

• Jimmy Butler is headed to the Miami Heat in a four-team deal that involves the Heat, Philadelphia 76ers, LA Clippers and Portland Trail Blazers. The deal reportedly will send Hassan Whiteside to the Trail Blazers, Josh Richardson to the Sixers, Maurice Harkless and a future first-round pick to the Clippers, and Meyers Leonard to the Heat.

Butler reportedly met with Miami right when free agency began on Sunday and made it clear that he wanted to join the Heat. He is expected to sign a four-year, $142 million deal.