It was the move everyone expected, yet everyone still had an opinion after the Brooklyn Nets agreed to trade James Harden to the Philadelphia 76ers for Ben Simmons.
NBA legend Isiah Thomas recently spoke with Yahoo Sports about the responsibility both players and teams have to each other.
“You know what? You don’t like when players hold out or don’t give their best, or don’t give their all. Now, that being said, you know, then there’s a responsibility that the organization has, too, to make sure that the players are, you know, not only feeling wanted, but actually feel like they got a chance to win,” Thomas told Yahoo Sports.
“… Now, the way they [Harden and Simmons] went about doing it, I think those of us as observers and fans wish they would have done it a little bit better. But you know, at the end of the day, it kind of worked out for both teams.”
NBA commissioner Adam Silver recently told Yahoo Sports he wished the trade had played out differently.
“I accept that there will always be conversations behind closed doors, when teams are unhappy, or players are unhappy, [but] the last thing you want to see is for these issues to play out publicly,” Silver told Yahoo Sports. “One of the things that I continue to do in my role is to think about ways we can improve the system.”
Thomas at All-Star weekend
As fans gather this weekend to see their basketball heroes at NBA All-Star weekend, celebrating the league’s 75th year, Yahoo Sports created a unique experience that allows those fans to travel back in time and stand where their heroes stood before they were stars — on some of the most iconic hoops courts in the world.
Called “The First Bounce,” the fully immersive experience teleports fans to these legendary courts, including Jackson Park in the 1960s, where Thomas got his start. Fans at All-Star weekend can attend the event, and everyone can check out exclusive video footage, photos and interviews and playlists at yahoo.com/firstbounce.
