Kyrie Irving and LeBron James have spoken since the end of their respective seasons.



But the conversation, while cordial and casual, sources said, never elevated to the level of LeBron trying to convince Kyrie to re-join him on the Lakers, because of one unmistakable truth: Irving was always headed to Brooklyn.



The Nets and Irving formally agreed to a four-year, $141 million contract just after 6 p.m. on Sunday. And in a shocker, Irving’s friend Kevin Durant decided to join him on the Nets for four years and $164 million.



Irving’s deal puts an end to his two-year stay in Boston, to the long-rumored Irving-Durant partnership on the Knicks, who whiffed big time, and, yes, to any dreams of a revived LeBron-Kyrie partnership in L.A. that bore so much success when they were together on the Cleveland Cavaliers.



This is no doubt a statement signing for Irving, but it shouldn’t be viewed as him choosing, say, Brooklyn over LeBron and the...