Power couple: Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant are taking their talents to the Brooklyn Nets

NEW YORK – Here comes the cavalry in Brooklyn.

The Brooklyn Nets, after years of methodical moves to build out their roster and undo a history of ill-advised trades, made a big splash at the start of NBA free agency Sunday by agreeing to terms with Kyrie Irving, a six-time All-Star point guard, on a four-year, $142 million contract. Kevin Durant will be coming in tow, on a four-year $164 million deal, creating what should be one of the best duos in the league once Durant returns from injury.

The Nets, who reached the playoffs last season for the first time since 2015, continued reshaping their roster when DeAndre Jordan, a center known for his rebounding, agreed to a four-year, $40 million contract, his agent told ESPN.

Durant ruptured his Achilles tendon in the NBA Finals about three weeks ago and is likely to miss all of the 2019-20 season. But once he returns, the Nets roster has the potential to be the finest in franchise history.

In agreeing to sign Irving, 27, who grew up in West Orange, N.J., the Nets are moving on from D'Angelo Russell, the 23-year-old point guard who stepped up to become an All-Star last season.

Under General Manager Sean Marks and coach Kenny Atkinson, the Nets were able to engineer their stunning turnaround by developing a roster around young players with promise — a necessity after the previous front office, in 2013, sent a host of first-round draft picks to the Boston Celtics in exchange for the aging stars Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. The Nets essentially mortgaged a considerable amount of their future for one trip to the conference semifinals, in 2014.

Marks and Atkinson managed to clean up that mess, which was no small feat, and now they are taking a calculated risk by handing the keys of the franchise to one of the league's more mercurial stars.

He put up terrific numbers last season, averaging 23.8 points, 6.9 assists and 5.0 rebounds per game. But the Celtics lacked chemistry, and Irving struggled in nine playoff games, averaging 21.3 points while shooting just 38.5% from the field. In the middle of an abysmal series vs. the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference semifinals, Irving looked and sounded as obstinate as ever, freezing out his teammates in blowout losses before professing his greatness in news conferences.

"Who cares?" he said when he was asked about his poor shooting. "I'm a basketball player."

The Nets, of course, are willing to bet on the Kyrie Experience. He is a top-flight player, and for a franchise that has been eager to gain more of a foothold in the New York market since moving to Brooklyn in 2012, his addition is a huge boost.

It remains to be seen, though, how Irving will mesh with a new team. He is not a simple man — an athlete who has said that he loathes the spotlight, even as he continues to moonlight as an actor in films and as a well-compensated pitchman for sneakers and soft drinks.