Getty Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant
The Brooklyn Nets are set to shake up the NBA landscape and specifically the Eastern Conference thanks to 2019 NBA free agency. There was a strong belief that the team was in the mix to sign both Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, and it appears that was indeed be the case. While it can’t be made official until 6 p.m. ET, the news began leaking early in the day.
As ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported, the Nets are set to sign Irving, Durant and also veteran center DeAndre Jordan. In turn, this sets up one of the most impressive hauls in free agency history.
Brooklyn is making a clean sweep tonight: Brooklyn will sign Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan, league sources tell ESPN.
The additions are set to create a drastically new-look Nets team in 2019-20 and beyond, and we’re going to take a look at the impact on the team’s salary cap.
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Nets Salary Cap: How Much Is Left With Kevin Durant & Kyrie Irving
As Spotrac showed prior to the news of these signings, the Nets had the second-most practical cap space in the NBA with $67,044,887. This was behind only the New York Knicks, who were believed to be Brooklyn’s biggest competition for both Durant and Irving.
Following the report of the signings, the contract terms for both All-Stars was also revealed. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Durant will earn $164 million over four years while Irving is set to be paid $141 million over the same span.
Sources: Durant will sign a 4-year, $164M deal with the Nets; Irving will sign 4-years, $141M.
While things can change and the structures of the reported contracts for both players hasn’t been officially finalized yet, we can at least get a ballpark of how they impact Brooklyn’s cap outlook. For Durant, he comes in $41 million while Irving is set to earn $35.25 million per year. Considering those two annual salaries add up to $76.25 million, the Nets will likely structure them a bit differently.
Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant Take Less Than Max Contracts
Hours after free agency was underway, Wojnarowski also reported the terms of Jordan’s contract, pointing out that it was worth $40 million over four years. He also revealed that both Durant and Irving are taking less than max deals in order to make sure Jordan could earn $10 million annually.
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.
The addition of Jordan is strong as well, considering the 30-year-old big man averaged 13.1 rebounds or more in every season dating back to 2013-14.
Beyond that, there’s a chance Brooklyn could opt to make a move or two in an effort to free up even more cap space. Nothing has been reported to this point in terms of the team’s next moves, but the additions of Durant and Irving alone are enough to send the NBA into a frenzy.
The Nets continue to be a team to watch, and there’ll be more clarification on the team’s salary cap situation as contracts are finalized and we have a better idea of what each player will earn in the upcoming season.
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