NBA rumors: Steph Curry heard Kevin Durant's Nets choice on flight from China

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Kevin Durant will sign with the Brooklyn Nets, and ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski broke the news at 1:52 p.m. PT on Sunday.

So, where was Stephen Curry when the report surfaced?

Marcus Thompson of The Athletic has the details:

Stephen Curry flew straight to the New York area from Shanghai, China. But he wasn’t going to pitch Kevin Durant on why he should stay with the Warriors. It was already too late. He was on the plane when the news broke that Durant was leaving for Brooklyn.

And Curry didn’t turn the jet around or cancel the trip. Because it wasn’t about recruiting. It was about respect. It was about thanks ... he was there to wish Durant happiness and peace, express his support for his decision.

And when Curry got to Durant’s apartment in Manhattan, Durant confirmed to Curry his decision that their time together was over. Face to face. Man to man. Friend to friend.

Durant is teaming up with Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan -- two close friends -- in Brooklyn. In fact, KD and Kyrie reportedly are taking below the max to enable Jordan to sign a deal that will pay him $10 million annually.

But let's get back to Curry real quick, because there was another very interesting anecdote from Thompson's article:

Curry and Durant never really got to become Curry and Durant. It might have been the only thing that truly could have kept Durant in the Bay.

“He wanted that type of relationship,” said one source friendly with Durant. “It just didn’t work out like that.”

To be sure, they got along. There was no behind-the-scenes fighting to speak of between the two ... they were cool with each other. Still are. But their relationship could only go so deep because of their circumstances.

[RELATEDKD's past comments on Kyrie might explain move to Nets]

Curry and Durant won two titles together, and had the opportunity to be one of the best duos in NBA history. But for many reasons, the partnership lasted just three seasons and ended before it really began.

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