ESPN Insider Stephen A. Smith may not exactly be Adrian Wojnarowski when it comes to scoops. His best strength is dishing rapid-fire opinions on “First Take,” getting a dialogue started on all things sports in a very entertaining manner. But he does have an extensive background as a reporter, beginning his career with The Philadelphia Inquirer, where he was no stranger to breaking news. It appears his sources have a new scoop for him coming out of Philadelphia about a potential Kyrie Irving for Ben Simmons trade.

Smith recently spoke with Kendrick Perkins about the latest Ben Simmons trade rumors. Simmons' name has come up in connection with almost every single team in the league recently. It does seem more like the former number one overall pick out of LSU's expected trade out of Philly is a matter of “when,” not “if.”

The latest from Stephen A. Smith implies the Nets were very much interested in trading Kyrie Irving for Ben Simmons until Kevin Durant stepped in and dissuaded them.

“Here’s another thing that could happened. Kyrie could have ended up in Philly. Sean Marks couldn’t do that because KD wasn’t having it… KD like ‘Kyrie Irving ain’t going no damn place.’ ‘Cause let me tell you something right now, Philadelphia might’ve said no, but I assure you, I assure you, if it were not for Kevin Durant, the Brooklyn Nets would be interested in making that deal.”

Why would the Nets even consider this? We went into more detail on that in an earlier post. But if what Smith said were true, it may suggest that Irving's unexplained (at least to us) absence a year ago might be at the root of things. To recall, Irving took some time off for “personal reasons” in the middle of the season last year.

Nets general manager Sean Marks expressed his disappointment at the time. Did that incident (and perhaps some others we don't know about) paint the picture for Brooklyn that Irving is not “all in”? Is it possible the Nets are worried he may go AWOL on them again? The Nets' brass could lean on the fact that Kevin Durant and James Harden already provide more than enough offense. It could be worth adding a former NBA Defensive Player of the Year candidate who is also a pass-first player with less risk of disappearing.

The team reportedly most interested in landing Simmons is the Minnesota Timberwolves. They just fired their president of basketball operations, Gersson Rosas, so who knows how that move affects trade talks? I haven't heard anything about the Nets talking to Philly prior to Smith's comments. That makes all of this hard to believe.

I can understand the basketball argument for considering this type of move. I wouldn't make it myself if I were in Marks' shoes, but I can at least see the thinking behind it. Adding Simmons, who is equipped to defend Giannis Antetokounmpo, has merit. But if it ain't broke…

If Smith's bold claim — that the Nets would consider this move if Durant was on board — is true, it should tell us something about how nervous they are of the possibility that Irving may check out. Are they too worried he might not be all in? Earlier in the week, the team offered an update that extension talks with Irving, as well as Harden, were progressing. If this stuff was true, it may already be water under the bridge. For now, I'm comfortable labeling it all as “rumors about stuff that never happened” and moving on.