Kyrie Irving calls out media on Twitter for James Harden trade drama

Hours after the Brooklyn Nets and Sixers made the James Harden-Ben Simmons trade, Kyrie Irving was active on Twitter. Now that Harden’s officially no longer Irving’s teammate, there’s been plenty of talk about their relationship.

Before the Nets and Wizards game on Thursday night, Irving responded to a story-link tweet from The Athletic’s NBA Twitter account that read: “When Irving heard Harden was in fact hoping to be traded, a well-placed source says he was eager to see it come to fruition.”

Even before the Harden deal was done, there was speculation that the two’s relationship was in question and that it all stemmed from Irving’s part-time role.

However, Irving’s input on Twitter seems to state otherwise.

Kyrie Irving denies report that James Harden left Brooklyn Nets because of him.

Joe Vardon of The Athletic wrote that before the Nets took on the Cavaliers in Cleveland on Jan. 17, Irving lit sage (subscription required) because he “still feels haunted by parts of his past on the Cavs.” When he did so, Harden “looked at Kyrie like he had three heads.”

That’s an extremely specific occurrence that Vardon apparently found out about from people that were in the locker room at the time. One of Vardon’s sources said that there was “a weird vibe between them.”

If Irving and Harden’s relationship was rocky, neither have admitted it.

After Thursday night’s game, Irving told the media, “Now that it’s official, I think that we can say our piece to James and wish him well. Ultimately, for me, I just want everyone to be happy.”

Understandably, it seems like Irving’s ready to move on from the matter, as we all are. The days leading up to the deadline were a whirlwind of differing reports flying in from all different directions and it’s a relief that a trade was made.

It feels like it’s just the beginning of an ongoing Irving and Harden saga though. Vardon’s writing is proof of that. He speculated that Harden won’t outright say that he wanted to leave Brooklyn because of Irving but that Irving “definitely had something to do with it.”

Is that why Harden wanted to break away from the Nets 13 months after he demanded a trade from the Rockets?

Irving’s vaccination status does play a role in the matter because even if that didn’t affect Harden’s decision to leave, it still affects the team as a whole. It’s difficult to be without your star point guard for games played at home and it’s an adjustment that everyone on the roster has to deal with.

Perhaps more will come out down the road about Brooklyn’s Big Three that played in a total of 16 games together.

Until then, we’ll have to wait until Mar. 10 when the Nets will travel to Philadelphia to face the Sixers. And even if Irving doesn’t get the COVID-19 vaccine by then (which he’s said he won’t), he’ll be eligible to play.

Will we get to see Harden air out some of his supposed frustrations with Irving and vice versa? Or will the two players take the high road?

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