Kevin Durant is heading to New York. The NBA star announced his free agency decision shortly after 6:00 p,m. on Sunday, June 30, but it was not the Knicks like they had hoped. Instead, Durant will be heading to Brooklyn to suit up for the Nets. To make matters worse for James Dolan and the Knicks, Durant will be joined in Brooklyn by fellow NBA All-Star Kyrie Irving and big man DeAndre Jordan.
Durant will reportedly sign a $164 million max deal.
That means the Knicks, who had the best chance at the No. 1 pick and enough cap space for two max contacts, will now have missed out on Zion Williamson, Kevin Durant, and Kyrie Irving.
Oh, and if there was any hope of landing Kawhi Leonard, it is reported that the two-time NBA Champion and NBA MVP is favored to land on the West Coast with LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers.
What a mess.
But, in typical internet fashion, everyone had a field day at the expense of the Knicks’ struggles.
NBA Twitter immediately began firing off memes to mock just how far the franchise has fallen under the direction of James Dolan and how the Brooklyn Nets are no longer the New York Knicks’ little brother. Rather than Madison Square Garden being the go-to destination for NBA basketball in New York, it’s the borough outside of Manhattan that will be drawing all of the attention.
You can check out some of the best memes and reactions from NBA Twitter below.
It’s going to be a long season for Knicks fans, but hey, by this point they are used to the disappoint.
NBA teams are not eligible to sign free agents to contacts until noon ET on July 6. However, they can begin negotiating until that time thanks to the moratorium period.