“Daryl Morey got hosed” - Stephen A. Smith believes the James Harden-Ben Simmons trade has made the Brooklyn Nets ‘exponentially better’

Famous TV personality Stephen A. Smith continues his rant against the Philadelphia 76ers and Daryl Morey suggesting that they helped the Brooklyn Nets get better. He insists that the Nets won the trade involving Ben Simmons and James Harden while saying that Daryl Morey had made a gargantuan blunder.

In ESPN's first take, Smith went on to slander Daryl Morey after the trade was announced.

"Daryl Morey got hosed in this deal. He got hosed. Nobody is saying that James Harden doesn't make the 76ers better. What I'm saying is you made Brooklyn exponentially better. You gave them an All-world defender, a 6-10 brother with ball-handling skills, a playmaker, somebody who can defend and lockdown almost anybody in the league. Daryl Morey was requesting draft picks from opposing teams and [ends up] giving up two first-rounds. "

Stephen A. Smith explained that he isn't against Daryl Morey's move because James Harden doesn't help the 76ers but because he made a rival team even better. The fact that the Philadelphia 76ers traded Ben Simmons, Seth Curry and Andre Drummond to a title-contender in their own division is certainly alarming. The Brooklyn Nets could very well be a roadblock to the Sixers' path to a championship. Smith expected Daryl Morey to trade Simmons to a team in the West but not someone who can stop the 76ers from winning a title.

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Stephen A. Smith on the Brooklyn Nets getting better: "This could potentially go down as the worst day in the career of Daryl Morey"

ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith during Game Three of the NBA Finals

Stephen A. Smith was shocked to hear that Daryl Morey and co. gave up two first-round picks when they were asking for draft assets from the beginning. He also mentioned how Ben Simmons, Seth Curry and Andre Drummond all make the Brooklyn Nets better while the Philadelphia 76ers get a 32-year-old James Harden who is playing like a shell of himself.

He proclaimed that if the Nets are the team to stop the Sixers in the playoffs then this NBA trade deadline day could go down as the worst day in the career of executive Daryl Morey. On ESPN's NBA Today, Stephen A. Smith said:

"I want to say this could potentially, not definitively, but this could potentially go down as the worst day in the career of Daryl Morey. You gave up a shooter in Seth Curry....You gave up two first-round picks. How do you go from asking for first-round picks to giving up two of them?"

"So, when I look at it from that perspective, and whatever else they gave up. When you think about Ben Simmons and how he compliments KD and Kyrie...Andre Drummond, a big body that Brooklyn desperately needed because we know they were a bit thin on their front line. You take all of those things into consideration I don't think there's any doubt that Brooklyn benefits from this trade."

The Philadelphia 76ers can pair James Harden with Joel Embiid and that certainly sounds exciting but the Brooklyn Nets didn't suffer a loss in this trade. Ben Simmons is one of the best defenders in the league who can be the Draymond Green-type player for Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. Additionally, Drummond can help them clean the glass and Seth Curry can fill the role of Joe Harris.

Only time will tell which team won the trade and how the situation pans out for either franchise. The Brooklyn Nets take on the Philadelphia 76ers on March 10th, 2022 for the first time after this trade, and all eyes will be on this emotional and heated battle.