SEE IT: New York's back pages after Knicks miss out on Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving

A new 'Mecca'

7/1/2019, 2:55 AM

Team LeBron forward Kevin Durant of the Golden State Warriors handles the ball against Team LeBron guard Kyrie Irving of the Boston Celtics during NBA All-Star Game practice at the Bojangles Coliseum. / Bob Donnan/USA TODAY Sports

Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are both coming to New York ... but they're not playing their home games at Madison Square Garden.

Durant and Irving both agreed to four-year near-max deals with the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday, making them contenders in the Eastern Conference while also putting the New York Knicks in a position where they had to release a statement about how they missed out on two of the top free agents.

How did New York's back pages react? Well ...

The New York Daily News believes Barclays Center is the new Mecca.

Here's our @nydnsports back page. @knicks @nets #kevindurant @nba @nbanetwork @HennGeorge @arigilberg #kyrie @warriors @celtics @APSE_sportmedia https://t.co/Urgc2c3I5t pic.twitter.com/n4b3RmzPZg
- Back Page Guy NYDN (@BackPageGuyNYDN) July 1, 2019

The New York Post, meanwhile, called the Nets big winners in free agency.

The back page: Nets win. Knicks lose. https://t.co/ETONxlHoM4 pic.twitter.com/ou0nzCtHIH
- New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) July 1, 2019

Newsday went with the same headline.

Newsday's Sunday BacKD Page
Nets sweep in, scoop up Durant, Irving@APSE_sportmedia pic.twitter.com/TUmap48VQb
- Joe Manniello (@joe_manniello) July 1, 2019

Even though they're not Knicks, it sure sounds like they'll be dominating the back pages for the next four years.

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