When the Brooklyn Nets traded James Harden to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Ben Simmons, they hoped to acquire a promising player just entering his prime, but Simmons never panned out as expected.
Reflecting on that trade, Kyrie Irving said it wasn't a "fair" move for Brooklyn.
"But when that happened and we got Ben, a lot more pressure started to come in on our franchise," Irving said on a live stream (h/t HoopsHype). "Because now—not only do we have this going on, but also we have a situation that Ben is dealing with, where everybody is micro—trying to micromanage this spun narrative.
"Like, ‘He doing this. He’s doing that.’ So, it—it wasn’t a fair trade at the—at the outset, right? It was not at all. I didn’t feel like that was a fair trade.
But at the same time, when it happened, he went to our division. He went to Philly. Like, he went to Philly. So not only did we lose Ime Udoka and then we lost one of our assistant GMs, but we lost James to Philly. So we’re in the same division with our—with our brothers, you know, and they know everything that we got going on. So when you spend a season or two with somebody, you gonna know their habits. You’re gonna know their strengths and weaknesses. You know that.”
Simmons didn't appear in any games during his first season in Brooklyn, and he never played more than 50 games in a season for the Nets. The former All-Star was ultimately released from the team last season, and he later signed with the Los Angeles Clippers, teaming up with James Harden.
Irving also said Harden's decision to ask for a trade "shocked" him, though he understands the situation better now.
“So when James got traded for Ben, I don’t think we knew the—the landscape of where Ben was at, right? I don’t think we knew where Ben was at," Irving said (h/t HoopsHype). "So when that trade happened, it shocked a lot of people. It shocked me. I—I was talking to James one day, I’m like, ‘shyt, bro. We about to go win these championships.’
And it was like a day later—asked for a trade. I was like, ‘Oh shoot. Okay.’ Like that now? Okay. I can’t be mad. I’m not going to ever be mad at someone doing what’s best for them, right?
And shout out to James, right? And I’ve had my conversation with James and I told him—I said, ‘Bro, I understood completely. I understood completely what you were doing, man. I understood, like, you’re in the middle of the season. You’re unsure about what I got going on. You know, you don’t know what the next portion of your career is going to look like. You know, things are going on.
"So, you have your questions. You know, what contract you gonna get?’—because we’re all max deal players at that point. Me, James, and K are all max deal players. We are all worth whatever we’re about to get paid, right? I’ma say that out loud."
The trio of Irving, Harden and Kevin Durant had potential to win championships but resulted in little success. Now, all three have moved on to new teams and are looking to move on from a shaky period of their careers.
Reflecting on that trade, Kyrie Irving said it wasn't a "fair" move for Brooklyn.
"But when that happened and we got Ben, a lot more pressure started to come in on our franchise," Irving said on a live stream (h/t HoopsHype). "Because now—not only do we have this going on, but also we have a situation that Ben is dealing with, where everybody is micro—trying to micromanage this spun narrative.
"Like, ‘He doing this. He’s doing that.’ So, it—it wasn’t a fair trade at the—at the outset, right? It was not at all. I didn’t feel like that was a fair trade.
But at the same time, when it happened, he went to our division. He went to Philly. Like, he went to Philly. So not only did we lose Ime Udoka and then we lost one of our assistant GMs, but we lost James to Philly. So we’re in the same division with our—with our brothers, you know, and they know everything that we got going on. So when you spend a season or two with somebody, you gonna know their habits. You’re gonna know their strengths and weaknesses. You know that.”
Simmons didn't appear in any games during his first season in Brooklyn, and he never played more than 50 games in a season for the Nets. The former All-Star was ultimately released from the team last season, and he later signed with the Los Angeles Clippers, teaming up with James Harden.
Irving also said Harden's decision to ask for a trade "shocked" him, though he understands the situation better now.
“So when James got traded for Ben, I don’t think we knew the—the landscape of where Ben was at, right? I don’t think we knew where Ben was at," Irving said (h/t HoopsHype). "So when that trade happened, it shocked a lot of people. It shocked me. I—I was talking to James one day, I’m like, ‘shyt, bro. We about to go win these championships.’
And it was like a day later—asked for a trade. I was like, ‘Oh shoot. Okay.’ Like that now? Okay. I can’t be mad. I’m not going to ever be mad at someone doing what’s best for them, right?
And shout out to James, right? And I’ve had my conversation with James and I told him—I said, ‘Bro, I understood completely. I understood completely what you were doing, man. I understood, like, you’re in the middle of the season. You’re unsure about what I got going on. You know, you don’t know what the next portion of your career is going to look like. You know, things are going on.
"So, you have your questions. You know, what contract you gonna get?’—because we’re all max deal players at that point. Me, James, and K are all max deal players. We are all worth whatever we’re about to get paid, right? I’ma say that out loud."
The trio of Irving, Harden and Kevin Durant had potential to win championships but resulted in little success. Now, all three have moved on to new teams and are looking to move on from a shaky period of their careers.
Doc Rivers broke Ben Simmons mentally pause
