Although there had been speculation that Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant would be headed to the Nets, nobody could quite confirm if this was true until free agency officially open. While this news broke the hearts of hopeful Knicks fans, New York's new forward Bobby Portis claims that players were aware of KD and Kyrie's intentions for a while.
"Everybody knew that," Portis said to The Athletic's Mike Vorkunov about the Nets' new acquisitions. "I just don’t think the media knew that. Us basketball players, we all knew that."
The Knicks losing out on KD and Kyrie was just another low point for the fan base; this failure sting more because they playing for a team that's a 30-minute trade ride away.
Portis' comments also contradict reports surrounding Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors. Bill Simmons claimed that Curry was "bothered" by the timing of KD's announcement and Golden State felt like they had a "puncher's chance" at re-signing Durant. If Portis is right, then Curry already knew Durant was leaving for Brooklyn.