With Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, the Nets Become New York’s True Team

Very little chance that happens. Next year they won't have KD and if they make the playoffs they will likely lose in the first round. Kyrie has shown he's perfectly happy putting up 25 a night on a 50 loss team with no chance of actually contending. He even signed an extension in Cleveland under those circumstances. But when Lebron came back and he was only the second best player and there were expectations of winning, he was miserable and demanded a trade. I see a similar circumstance when KD returns in yr 2. Plus when KD comes back you have no idea what he will actually be or if he can be the KD of old. If the Nets can't contend for a title they can't approach the Knicks

Sorry, but the Nets will never become NEW YORK’s team. True New Yorkers bleed Orange and Blue. There maybe a few star chasers that may jump on the nets bandwagon but that just means they weren’t Knick fans for real anyway. With New York it’s not always about the individuals it about our love for our team. I used to be a KD fan but now I can’t like him because he’s with the enemy now, Lol! Also, had I known Kyrie would join the Nets I would’ve never paid to see Uncle Drew. Haha!

Irving leaves Cleveland after winning a championship, playing with one of the greatest players of all time, Because he doesn't want to be in his shadow. A team that could have won again esp if they added more talent. Goes to Boston and proceeds to disrupt everything, "the world is flat". Now ends up in Brooklyn where once Durant gets healthy, and that's a big if, Irving will be playing in his shadow. I think he's the most talented guard in the league, but he's a nut case. And Durant may never be the same. So who knows.... I hope it does work out .... But this article assumes alot & the Nets made an expensive gamble. Plus Milwaukee will get better, Philadelphia will get much better, and if Kawhi stays in Toronto ....

"New York's True Team." That isn't saying very much, really. Durant and Irving, until shown otherwise, are both very fragile pillars in multiple ways. I suggest waiting to see how the next two seasons work out before declaring that the Nets won the lottery.

Whether Kyrie Irving can finally grow up will - for me- be the fop attraction of the Nets in 2019-20. As a one-man wrecking crew, Irving has skills possessed by few players of this or any previous NBA era. I can't count the number of times I've watched him turn the opposing team into helpless bystanders. (Ask the Spurs how it felt to be reduced to jello by Irving's 57-point explosion in March, 2015.) But, as with some great musical prodigies, maturity has lagged behind brilliance. I hope he spends this summer giving himself a good, long look in the mirror. His former Batman, LeBron, was able to do it after "the Decision." We'll see if Kyrie is up to it, as well.

The crestfallen Knicks will continue to suffer for the short term, and midterm. It should warrant some very serious soul-searching from Jim Dolan; except he has none, and therefore, it looks quite unlikely he will finally sell the team. However, there's still the long term; will Irving revert to form as a diva with testosterone? Will Durant withstand the microscopic scrutiny of the New York, media,no matter how well he recovers from his injury? If not, then the Knicks can at least feel a little sense of vindication. But, time will tell.

If they would change their name to the Brooklyn Dodgers, the transformation would be complete!

I'm surprised we're already planning the parade up Flatbush Avenue. The Nets landed an enormous talent in Durant, with an equally enormous injury to sort (not to mention, he's never won anything except when joining champions), and another great talent in Irving, if one who's failed to lead a good roster anywhere on his own. Had Brooklyn landed, say, Kahwi and Kemba, I could see getting the parade permit. Until then, let's wait and see.

The move by Mr. Irving and Mr. Durant is the culmination of what players have always wanted, the ability to decide for themselves who they play for and with. Irving left Cleveland for Boston to take them to the promised land. Instead, he was sidelined by injury and the team just fell short after which Irving turned into an irritant instead of inspiration. Mr. Durant left OKC for the sure thing in Oakland, and barring his injury a sure three-peat. He needed a new challenge beyond the medical, so he is heading to Brooklyn where he gets to lead a young group to the promised land. The real question is if Mr. Durant and Mr. Irving will work together like Curry, Thompson and Durant, or will there be the discordancy of Westbrook, Harden and Durant.

I have been a Knicks fan my whole life. I preface this remark with I would have liked for the Knicks to have gotten Durant/Irving. But...I have lots of concerns about Durant at 32 coming back from an injury (if he loses a half step, his effectiveness will go down) and Irving (only excelled with Lebron and more of a one-on-one player). I also have concerns with how much of an upgrade is Irving over D’Angelo Russell. Just to through some made up numbers around. 20% chance of winning a championship with those two. 20% chance of getting close. 60% chance this turns into a mistake where the team is better, but doesn't contend. Having said that, I would've taken those odds for the Knicks.

Durant, Westbrook, Harden, and Ibaka formed a formidable OKC team in 2012, but they lost in the Finals to Miami. Even if Durant fully recovers, I don’t see the Nets as coming close to matching the talent of that Thunder team.

How will this playout? One year from now, having missed most of the year if not all, Durant will be one year older at 31 going quickly to 32, and playing on a repaired Achilles. Not ideal.

Call me when they do something.

As a longtime Net fan who has even enjoyed the low points I am amazed at what the front office was able to do. Trading out of the first round in the draft to open up more cap space and other moves show they are playing the three dimensional chess required to succeed. The Knicks need a similar infusion of new thinking...is it all Dolan’s fault? Is he too enamored with the myth of the Garden as a “Mecca”? And are those who think NYC will draw a superstar because if marketing opportunities unaware that we are in a global economy? Even as a Nets fan I hope to see the Knicks return to form but I have no problem with the Nets grabbing more headlines. Even this past season The NY Times would give them secondary coverage so maybe that will change!

Dolan's hapless Knicks haven't been "New York’s True Team" for a long, long time now! Except as the punchline for how over-rated, overpaid, and abysmally performing they are! Just like the MTA, LIRR, NJT and the hyper-congested streets awash with black limos from Uber, Lyft, and their ilk.

Boy, a lot of sour grapes Knicks fans here!

If you pay close attention this is more about the relationship(s) between Roc Nation Sports and the Nets. If folks thought LeBron, Rich Paul and Klutch Sports ran the Lakers, what Jay-Z and crew have done in Brooklyn is certainly worth mentioning.

Pah-lease! They’re still and always will be the Nets from New Jersey. Just like Irving. Chasing big name free agents makes for entertaining news, but teams that fans love are built from the ground up - like the Yanks’ beloved core four. Let’s focus on what the Knicks have and not what they don’t have - a good young core that will only get better over time. Now, that’s an interesting story. Let’s go Knicks!!!

They won’t win a championship with 30+ year olds. Waste of money.

What does “true” mean in the title, “... the Nets Become New York’s True Team”? Seems an absurd word choice.

It will be interesting to see how Kyrie Irving enjoys playing on a so-so team. At least he won't be challenged by a good coach, or pressured into a leadership role in playoff runs...a relief for him after his no-show for the Celtics this year.

Not so fast. Durant is a true gem, who will make any team better. Irving's experience in Boston shows another possibility. There, Irving took a great team and pulled it apart, his amazing talent notwithstanding. It seems as though one of his talents might be a unique ability to turn a typical mid-season slump into debilitating psychodrama of finger-pointing and blame-casting. The nets built a playoff team by creating chemistry between players typically viewed as spare parts. They will not have Durant for most or all of next season, and if things start to go bad, watch out for potentially irreparable damage to the team's chemistry. Indeed, the Nets with Kyrie could very well be a walking basket case before Durant takes his first shot.

I realize that the Nets are being lauded throughout NBA circles as having won free agency but I beg to differ. Durant's huge 4 year contract may produce 2 good years at most since he won't play until 2021, and by the 4th year he will be 34 and probably declining. Irving is pushing 30 and is frequently injured so the Nets will be lucky to get 3 good years out of his 4 year deal. Then they signed Deandre Jordan away from the Knicks to another huge 4 year contract and he's already in his early 30s so he might have 2 good years left. I would have resigned Russell at PG and signed younger FAs like Julius Randle who plugged the Knicks' hole at PF. The Nets' 17th pick in this draft was used by the Pelicans to take a 6'5" shooting guard Alexander-Walker who the Nets could have used to pair with Russell. So time will tell but it seems the Nets are repeating the same mistakes from a few years ago when they mortgaged their future on Garnett/Pierce.

As a longtime Celtics fan, I’m disappointed in Irving but glad he’s gone. While extraordinarily talented and the most fun player to watch since Bird, he was a flake. He obviously didn’t command any respect in the locker room and his cryptic comments about his future plans during the season were a raw demonstration of his lack of leadership. That said, I don’t think head coach Brad Stevens and GM Danny Ainge handled him well. The Celtics excelled the year before because there were no superstars. Irving was given the superstar treatment and the rest of the team rebelled, leading to a lackluster season. I’m confident that with Irving gone, Gordon Hayward, who didn’t seem to fit into the scheme, will find his groove. One thing is for sure, Boston is going to take it to Brooklyn for Irving’s shabby of a franchise that has a lot of pride.

No matter how many Stanley Cup championships the Islanders won in the early 80's, they were always a distant second to the Rangers in popularity. The same has always been true of the Nets, and will continue to be forevermore. The Knicks are a glamour team. The Nets are not. The Knicks will also (win or lose) always be the most valuable NBA franchise.