Heatcheck: Should the Brooklyn Nets trade Kyrie Irving for Ben Simmons? | NBA News
3 min readBrooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving and Philadelphia 76ers point forward Ben Simmons have dominated all the headlines and discussion in the build-up to the NBA’s landmark 75th season.
Simmons has wanted a trade from the Philadelphia 76ers for some time.
He skipped pre-season completely and even after reporting back to the team, Simmons didn’t last long before he was ejected from practice by head coach Doc Rivers for being a distracting presence and refusing to participate in drills. Talk about drama.
Irving, meanwhile, is unable to play for the Brooklyn Nets due to his decision not to receive a Covid-19 vaccination and the current mandate in place in New York.
Which brings us to an ingenious solution for both parties put forward on Heatcheck: What if they were traded for one another?
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It fills the Nets need for elite defense and gives the Sixers a scorer and creator at the guard position to open the floor up for their dominant big man Joel Embiid.
But is it the dream trade for both parties it appears to be?
Court is in session in a brand new segment as Judge Jaydee Dyer hears opposing cases put forward by experts Mo Mooncey and B.J. Armstrong before making his ruling.
You can tell the power that comes with that gavel may have already gone to his head.
In the next Court Case, Mo is mortally offended by Jaydee’s assertion that his beloved Boston Celtics won’t make the playoffs this year, leading to the claim that it’s the « worst take he’s ever seen on television ».
You can watch that unfold in the full YouTube clip below.
After the dust settles on that back-and-forth, it was time for the team to welcome Ovie Soko to the show live from Osaka, Japan and make their Way Too Early predictions for the NBA’s awards this season.
First up is Most Valuable Player, as BJ picks Doncic, Mo takes Giannis, Ovie chooses Embiid and Jaydee plumps for KD.
At this stage, compelling cases can be made for each of them. And that’s without mentioning LeBron James or Steph Curry.
That wasn’t all, however. Here’s what the guys went for across MVP, Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Coach of the Year and the 2022 NBA Champions so you can see how they compare.
Who are you backing to get the most right come the end of the season in June?
You can check out the full discussion, including their reasoning, on YouTube here.