NBA News: KD picked Suns, Bones trolls Nuggets, Ben Simmons benched

Jan 2, 2023; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant (7) dribbles up court in front of San Antonio Spurs forward Zach Collins (23) during the first half at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 2, 2023; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant (7) dribbles up court in front of San Antonio Spurs forward Zach Collins (23) during the first half at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports /
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In NBA news today, it turns out Kevin Durant picked Phoenix, a newly traded player trolled his former team and another sad development for Ben Simmons.

Kevin Durant asked to be traded to the Phoenix Suns

In what seems to be predictable development, it has been reported that Kevin Durant picked the Phoenix as the team he wanted to be traded to. According to Marc Stein, the Suns were the team that he wanted to go to in the summer and now it seems he got his wish. After trading Kyrie Irving, the Nets decided to end things on a positive note with Durant and send him to the team that he wanted to be traded to.

Bones Hyland trolls the Nuggets

In what seems to be a diss at Jamal Murray, Bones Hyland jabbed the Nuggets in his introductory press conference. He said playing with the Nuggets, “was a great experience playing with Joker. Two guys over here (playing with the Clippers) who are phenomenal talents, and over there there’s one guy with phenomenal talent as well.”

He later walked back his comments on Twitter saying he wasn’t trying to “threw no shots” but he has since deleted that tweet. He made a second tweet talking about walking those comments back again but deleted that tweet as well. Hyland’s trade demand went under the radar due to Durant’s trade but it seems if the teams meet in the playoff there is already a storyline for that potential series.

The Clippers are currently tied with the Mavs in the standing, leaving open the possibility for a second-round matchup between these two teams.

Ben Simmons benched 

After the loss against the Knicks, Jacque Vaughn addressed the fact that Ben Simmons lost his starting spot. According to Matt Brooks, Jacque Vaughn said: “I’ll be honest with the message… but 10-15 years from now, you know that I was honest and upfront with you”.

While that quote was taken out of context from the rest of his press conference, it seems that Brooklyn is tired of Simmons’s lack of ability to space the floor and lack of aggressiveness on offense. The Nets have a lot of 3-and-D forwards now after trading their superstars. Putting Simmons on the floor limits the Nets’ spacing in games, this is why the former all-NBA player didn’t play much in the loss against the Knicks.

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