The Brooklyn Nets had an absolutely monstrous first day on the NBA free agency market. Not only were they able to land superstar point guard Kyrie Irving as expected, they also signed Kevin Durant away from the Golden State Warriors. Following those moves, the Nets were also able to sign star big man DeAndre Jordan.
For those who are trying to figure out how the Nets were able to afford all three, the reason has come to light.
According to a report from ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, both Durant and Irving decided to take less than the max so that Jordan could sign for the $10 million he will receive each year.
Free agents Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are taking less than the max to allow DeAndre Jordan to get the $10M annual salary with Brooklyn, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2019
Brooklyn has gone from being a rebuilding team to one of the favorites in the Eastern Conference in one offseason. Durant will miss the entire 2019-20 NBA season due to the torn Achilles that he suffered in the NBA Finals, but will still have three full seasons after this year to make his mark.
Jordan is exactly what Durant and Irving needed. He will bring top-notch rim protection and rebounding, but will never need the ball in his hands. Brooklyn will also get quite a few offensive rebound putbacks from their center.
Needless to say, the Nets are going to come out of the offseason as one of the biggest winners of the free agency period. If the Los Angeles Lakers can sign Kawhi Leonard, they will be up there as well.
Finally, the Nets made one other free agency move on the opening day. They signed veteran guard Garrett Temple on a two-year, $10 million contract. All four of those players are great additions and are going to take the Nets back into serious contention for an NBA Finals appearance.
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