Report: KD, Kyrie decided to team up before 2018-19 season began

Even before the start of the 2018-19 season, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving had already decided to join forces this summer, sources told Bleacher Report's Howard Beck.

Their eventual destination - the Brooklyn Nets - had not been determined at the time, but the two would reportedly see the merits of New York's other team by the midway point of this past campaign.

The revaluation comes after the New York Knicks spent months projecting the utmost confidence in their ability to lure star talent into their two maximum-contract slots this summer - right up until those stars elected to take their talents to the other side of the East River.

Though the Knicks offered a bigger spotlight - and outsized expectations - the Nets went about their business this past season, posting their first winning record since 2013-14 while showcasing the promising synergy between Kenny Atkinson's coaching staff and Sean Marks' front office. The professionalism clearly paid off, as Brooklyn proved victorious in landing two of the crown jewels of the 2019 free-agent class.