Shaquille O’Neal Urges Brooklyn Nets to Trade Kyrie Irving, Not James Harden

James Harden has been one of the biggest talking points of the ongoing trade window. Earlier this month, it was reported that Harden and Ben Simmons could be a part of a trade deal between the Nets and the Sixers. However, the deal hasn’t gone through yet despite the trade deadline nearing.

Harden has been overburdened a lot with workload this season with the Nets. Brooklyn Nets decided to not call Kyrie Irving at the start of the season due to his non-compliance with New York’s health and safety protocols. He missed action till December, before being called up by the Nets for the away games.

Kevin Durant, on the other side, has missed several games due to injury. This has resulted in Harden single-handedly carrying the Nets on many occasions. Former NBA star Shaquille O’Neal recently gave his take on the James Harden trade rumors and admitted that it should be Kyrie leaving the franchise.

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Shaquille O’Neal says the Nets should trade Kyrie Irving instead of James Harden

Shaq recently hosted ‘The Big Podcast‘ in which he expressed his thoughts on the Harden trade rumors. However, Shaq said that the Nets need to trade Kyrie Irving and not Harden.

“They need to trade the other guy (Kyrie Irving)… ..I’m not gonna say his name,” Shaq said.

“James’ been there. He’s been playing. He came here to try to win a championship. He’s doing that under a lot of circumstances.” 

During the off-season ahead of the 2021-22 season, it was reported that the Nets wanted to trade Kyrie Irving. However, they couldn’t come to a conclusion and Kyrie stayed with the franchise this season. However, he can not be fully utilized by the franchise due to him not complying with the health and safety rules of New York City.

Harden joined the Nets around a year ago in a bid to win his first championship. The Nets bolstered their roster during the off-season to fight for the first championship of their history. However, they are struggling this season and sit 8th with 9 straight losses.

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