The NBA trade deadline came and passed on Thursday and there was one deal that towered above all others. That trade was the swap of Ben Simmons for James Harden that has the Philadelphia 76ers pairing The Beard with Joel Embiid as they search for their first championship since the days of disco.

The trade's other side, has Simmons joining Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving on the Brooklyn Nets. With rumors swirling that Brooklyn's team chemistry might get a lot better with this move, The Athletic was able to quote a “well-placed” source that said Irving may have been more than ready to see Harden get shipped out.

“When Irving heard Harden was in fact hoping to be traded, a well-placed source says he was eager to see it come to fruition.”

When Irving got his chance to read the article, he immediately went to Twitter and had this amazing response to it:

“Lol I guess this is ‘breaking news' media nowadays. Keep my family name out y’all Simpleton articles. The Puppets are running wild Again.”

Undoubtedly, a big part of the feud between Irving and Harden is regarding Irving's unvaccinated status against COVID-19. It has made him unavailable for more than half of the Nets' games and his in-out-in-out relationship with the court is something that seems to drive some on the Nets crazy.

Irving, Durant, and Harden were all supposed to sign max extensions once they were all brought over last season. Durant and Irving signed theirs, but Harden never did. Perhaps that is the most telling line of them all, he saw enough (or not enough?) of Kyrie that he knew Brooklyn wasn't the place for him.