On this Day 18 years ago the Nets traded for Jason Kidd

Nearly 20 years later, it's a day that will live in infamy for many Nets fans. It's a day that forever changed the course of a franchise that for many years was considered the red-headed stepchild of the NBA. It was the day the Nets traded away Stephon Marbury for floor general and future first ballot hall of famer Jason Kidd. The agreement was in place on June 29, but couldn't be agreed to until July 18 when Marbury's base-year salary status came to a close.

The other pieces of the trade include Chris Carr, Elliot Perry and forward Bill Curley headed to the Nets while the Wolves got guard Terrell Brandon from Milwaukee and forward Brian Evans and two draft choices from the Nets, including a first-rounder. The then-New Jersey Nets sent Sam Cassell and Chris Gatling to the Bucks, who also get Paul Grant from the Wolves.

It was a complicated scenario, but the two star point guards saw their careers go in opposite directions. Marbury put up empty numbers during his time with the Suns, while Kidd served as the catalyst for the Nets 26-game turnaround and the first of back-to-back Finals appearances in his first year with the team. While the Nets abandoned the Meadowlands for a short stop in Newark before the permanent move to Brooklyn, it's clear that the Kidd trade was a landmark moment for the franchise.

With Kyrie Irving arriving as a free agent signing and Kevin Durants coming by way of a sign and trade involving DeAngelo Russell and several future draft picks, it's clear that this offseason marks the most important and perhaps impactful since Kidd's arrival to the Metropolitan area.

As Nets fans are anxiously await Durant to heal from a potentially devastating Achilles injury. An injury that he suffered in Game 5 of the finals-in his first action back since the Warriors reported he injured his calf in the semi-finals against the Rockets-it's not impossible that he returns to the court this season.

With or without Durant this year, the buzz and hype around the Brooklyn Nets is unprecedented. They transformed from one of the league's laughing stocks to a potential perennial power in the Eastern Conference. General manager Sean Marks was handed a complete mess left by former GM Billy King who was pressured by ownership to win-now back in 2014 and mortgaged the future to acquire aging stars Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Jason Terry. In three short years the Nets have quietly and meticulously built a culture that is the envy of the rest of the NBA.

Opponents admire the Nets tenacious play and free-flowing offensive system, including Kevin Durant. While most New Jerseyeans were sad to see the Nets leave the Garden State, there's no doubt that a marquee offseason like the one of the Nets enjoyed would be extremely unlikely playing in front of an empty building in the swamp. The Nets have established a brand of basketball, an identity and a culture in Brooklyn.

Now we'll have to seen if Marks' wheelings and dealings will return the Nets back to prominence like they once enjoyed under Kidd's leadership in the early-2000s.