NBA (DR) / Brooklyn Nets (DR)
Tongues sometimes tend to loosen up, several months after a trade has taken place. This is particularly what happened to the side of a league superstar, who was atomized by a former teammate calling him a brake on the results of the franchise. Ouch…
If the 2023 trade deadline was so historic, it is also because these are polarizing players who have changed creameries. Kyrie IrvingKevin Durant, Russell Westbrook : only big names who were not blameless at the Nets or the Lakers. By getting rid of the first two, the Blacks and Whites notably drew a line under their Big Three 2.0 of which only Ben Simmons remains.
The craziest thing about all this is that despite his star status, the Australian is not even really the leader of the squad since we rather think of a Cam Thomas in this register. Traded a year ago by the Sixers vs. James Harden, the winger does not really miss his former brothers in arms. During a recent interview, Georges Niang notably launched a nuclear missile in his direction:
Ben Simmons massacred by a Sixers player
Georges Niang says he has ‘a lot’ to say about Ben Simmons
“Ben Simmons kinda handicapped us”
(Via @975JKShow | h/t @sixerdaily )
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) February 24, 2023
John Kincade : You are five wins ahead of last year’s pace.
Georges Niang : Oh yeah ? Well, Ben Simmons sort of crippled us early last year. I mean, I wasn’t going to say it, but now you know what I mean?
Bob Cooney : He’s no longer in the Nets’ rotation, by the way.
Georges Niang : Well, that’s none of my business. When you build rosters, speaking from a GM’s perspective – I don’t know how much Simmons earns, but it’s a max contract. So if you take him out of the equation immediately, you have to find other role players to replace, you know, passing, dribbling, rebounding, defending…
Difficult to make clearer on the part of the former Jazz player, who does not care about the setbacks of his ex-teammate. It must be said that if Harden is no stranger to the drama since his arrival, he always brings more than a Ben 10 refusing to put on a jersey. And as Philly continues to win, we can say that the franchise has gained in exchange. Not really what one can say of Brooklyn…
This interview with Georges Niang literally turned into a settling of accounts concerning Ben Simmons. Clearly, the Sixers players still haven’t forgiven the star for the way his time in Philadelphia ended.
