Kevin Durant is really going to the Nets. Here’s how.

The Nets are forming a superteam with Kyrie Irving, Durant and DeAndre Jordan.

Updated Jun 30, 2019, 9:09 PM UTC

There was no precedent for a free agency like Kevin Durant’s, but the Brooklyn Nets are taking their chance, agreeing to a four-year, $164 million max deal with one of the league’s best-ever scorers, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. KD, Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan are expected to become Brooklyn Nets.

The Golden State Warriors’ two-time Finals MVP is in the prime of his career at age 30, but is just weeks removed from tearing his Achilles tendon, one of the worst injuries in basketball. The future of one of the best players in the game is in flux, and how good he’ll be when he returns won’t be known until after he’s already been paid.

Durant’s free agency was the most high-stakes one of the year even before his injury. The Warriors butted heads in the locker room as early as November over his future — you probably remember when Draymond Green called him a “bitch” in the middle of a game. But now, everything is even more complex. Durant is not expected to return next season at all, and when he does step back on the court in two seasons, there’s no guarantee he’ll be the same.

[Catch up with all the 2019 NBA Free Agency winners and losers in one place]

The latest rumors

The Nets really did it.

June 30: Kevin Durant is planning to sign with the Nets, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
June 30: Durant plans to announce his free agency decision on Sunday night on the Instagram of The Boardroom, his own sports business network, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
June 26: Durant declined his player option with the Warriors, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. That doesn’t mean he’s saying goodbye to Golden State, but it does indicate he’ll probably sign a long-term deal with his next team.
June 24: Andre Iguodala said he thinks both Klay Thompson and KD will both stay with the Warriors.
June 21: According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, the Nets “are gaining confidence that they can [sign KD].” Kendrick Perkins, KD’s former teammate in Oklahoma City, called Brooklyn the frontrunner.
June 20: ESPN’s Brian Windhorst explained that the Warriors and KD may work together on a delayed sign-and-trade that would involve Durant signing the five-year max contract only the Warriors can offer, only for them to ship him to his desired team in 2020, when his Achilles heals. That would let the Warriors recoup assets for KD’s departure and allow KD to make $57 million more than he would signing elsewhere.
June 11: In an interview with Yahoo! Sports’ Chris Haynes, Durant insisted that he “can’t be recruited.”
April 16: The Athletic’s Tim Kawakami reported that most people around the league didn’t expect KD to stay in Golden State “no matter what happens in the playoffs.”

How did we get here?

After straining his calf in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals against Houston, Durant sat out for more than a month to nurse the injury. He came back quicker than some expected in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, only to suffer an Achilles injury to the same leg after just 11 minutes. Oof.

In the grander scheme of his career, with back-to-back championships already secured, so is KD’s legacy. He came to Golden State for near-guaranteed titles, and that’s what he got two out of three times. The Warriors dynasty is now over with Durant’s departure as well as Klay Thompson being out with an ACL tear that’ll cost him most of next season, and Shaun Livingston on the verge of retirement.

We may never know if the Achilles tear changed KD’s mind about his free agency, but his departure from Golden State was always expected. Now the Nets will have to sit tight for one season to reap the benefits.