Each NBA team’s greatest free agent signing in franchise history

Brooklyn Nets: Kevin Durant, Power Forward (2019-present)

From the moment it was made clear that the Brooklyn Nets had poorly mortgaged their future in that infamous 2013 draft-night trade with Boston, the goal then became about finding a way to continue building regardless.

The Nets began in the higher-ups, bringing in Sean Marks to serve as general manager and Kenny Atkinson to be the head coach. Without any draft picks or a team enticing enough for free agents, talent was hard to come by, making the more tangible results hard to compile at first. But the environment in development in Brooklyn was perfectly suited to take fliers and develop castaways in the hope of building something special enough to attract a big-time free agent when the time was right.

That time came a lot sooner than anyone expected after a surprise playoff appearance in 2019, and with it came validation to a years-long process that sent notice across the league about the type of organization the Nets had become. One that puts players of all caliber in a position to succeed.

The message was strong enough to reach Kevin Durant and taken seriously enough to get him to sign. The luxuries of the Brooklyn lifestyle certainly helped the Nets’ pitch, but KD saw a chance to take a budding franchise where it had never gone before.

Brooklyn was keenly aware of Durant’s Achilles tear that would not only keep him sidelined for his first season with his new team but offered little assurance of a return to the player challenging for best in the world status before going down. Knowing how much better even a compromised Durant was compared to the rest of the league, the Nets hardly cared. Any version of the two-time Finals MVP offered the best shot at an NBA championship in franchise history, no small feat for an organization without one to its name.

With some of the best numbers of his career in his first year back on one of the east’s best teams, Durant is rewarding that faith after the Nets gave him every reason to believe they’d do right by his when he signed.