Kevin Durant never talked to Nets before announcing decision on Instagram

Kevin Durant announced his decision to sign with the Brooklyn Nets with an Instagram post, and the team says he made that decision without ever once discussing it with anyone in the franchise.

Speaking to the New York Daily News, general manager Sean Marks says the first indication the Nets had that Durant was coming their way was that social media post. In fact, he says Durant never even set up a meeting with the organization before that.

“The Instagram post that he put up, we were all sitting in the office,” Marks said. “We all got that in real-time with you guys. We weren’t even sure if we were getting a meeting that night or if it was going to be a telephone conversation with him.”

Many wondered how in the world Durant and other big-name stars were coming to these huge agreements on max deals right at the start of free agency.

If you buy this explanation (we don’t), these comments by Marks would seem to clear the team of any tampering. But they also signal that there has been plenty of communication going on behind the scenes, even if nothing was happening directly between the team and Durant.

When asked about a decision being made without discussing anything, including the terms of a contract, Marks made it clear that stars like Durant are going to get what they get, period.

“With those guys, they’re at a different level. They know … I’m not going to sit here and tell them, ‘Well, we’d like to discuss a contract with you.’ We know what we’re getting into,” Marks said.

Of course, Durant wasn’t the only star to join Brooklyn in free agency. Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan joined him to form a Big 3 that rivals anything in the Eastern Conference.

The influx of star power certainly took head coach Kenny Atkinson by surprise.

“Yeah, it surprises me just because we’ve come a long way in a short time. That’s the biggest surprise. I know Sean was strategizing and thinking big picture. I was kind of focused more on the day-to-day. It was a surprise they chose to participate in this type of system that we’re running.”

After landing these stars, the Nets will have some significant pressure to produce on the court, even while Durant sits out this next season (we assume) recovering from a ruptured Achilles.