In what has to be the biggest news to hit the NBA offseason, superstar Kevin Durant announces his decision to leave the Golden State Warriors and join the Brooklyn Nets. While this was one of the potential moves that has kept the league buzzing, Durant's decision was not the top choice for many experts.
After three seasons and two championship rings with the Warriors, Durant is bringing his talent to Brooklyn. The superstar's decision was announced on Sunday, immediately following the start of the NBA free agency period. The announcement was first posted on the Instagram page of The Boardroom, an online series that tackles the sports business. The Boardroom is produced by Durant and his business partner Rich Kleiman.
Speculations regarding Durant's intention to leave the Warriors started to surface following his season ending injury during the Game 5 of the NBA Finals. Experts have noted that it will quite a long time to rehabilitate his injury, and it will play an important factor in terms of Durant's free agency status. It would appear that the experts were right after all, they just missed which team he will end up signing with.
Durant ruptured his right Achilles tendon and the injury could keep him off the court the entire season. Sports analysts have noted that the Nets are making a huge bet on Durant considering his injury status. Durant will be joining hisfellow 2016 U.S. Olympic teammates Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan, both of them have also signed deals with the Nets on Sunday.
ESPN reported that Durant signed a four-year deal work $164 million with the Nets. This is a huge drop from the possible max five-year contract worth $221 million he could have had if he signed with the Warriors.
Durant was seen by many as an antagonistic character when he joined the Warriors in 2016, essentially creating a super team in the process. Some critics have seen this decision as a shortcut to finally win a ring. Nevertheless, Durant did made good on his decision and eventually helped the Warriors to three consecutive NBA Championship appearance, winning two of those.
Widely favored to complete the famed three-peat achievement, the Warriors lost to the Toronto Raptors in Game 6. It is important to note here that Durant just played a couple of games during the entire Finals. The last game he played was Game 5 in which he sustained his injury. The Warriors managed to win that game without him, only to loss to the Raptors in the next game.
