The grouping of Irving, James Harden, and Kevin Durant in Brooklyn never bore fruit the way many thought it would, resulting in trades, conflicts, and eventually, players requesting out. One of the more controversial moves was Brooklyn's dealing James Harden to Philadelphia for Ben Simmons, a swap that Irving addressed recently on a stream.

So when James got traded for Ben, I don’t think we knew the—the landscape of where Ben was at, right? I don’t think we knew where Ben was at. So when that trade happened, it shocked a lot of people. It shocked me.