Basketball: Steven Adams talks about the NBA trade process after being transferred from Oklahoma City Thunder to New Orleans Pelicans

Kiwi NBA star Steven Adams has spoken about the process of being traded, noting that it is simply part of the business.

In most professional sports leagues in the United States, players can be traded from their team at the discretion of the franchise. While some players have no-trade clauses written into their contracts, most are subject to being shipped from one city to another.

For Adams, after seven seasons in the middle of the United States with the Oklahoma City Thunder, he has been relocated to the deep south of the country, the vibrant styles of New Orleans.

Adams said the difficult thing was not moving from one team to another.

“It’s all part of the business, being negotiated. That’s not really the difficult part. The difficult part is the relationship that you build within it, then you have to move on,” he said.

“But it’s not like he’s died or something, I’m going to see them again. So it’s okay, it’s not that sad.”

Adams joins the New Orleans Pelicans and joins one of the most exciting and youthful teams in the NBA. Having struggled in recent years, the team now has the building blocks for a bright future, like 20-year-old power forward Zion Williamson and star forward Brandon Ingram.

With Adams joining the roster alongside veteran guard Eric Bledsoe, the team now has the experience to accompany and help shape the team’s young players, while established coach Stan van Gundy, who led the Orlando Magic to the finals of the NBA in 2009, has joined the team at the helm.

“In terms of coming here, it’s an exciting team. Stan is an old school kid and I like that; I feel like I can learn a lot from him.

“It’s one of those teams where you have great talent, a new coach, and it’s not new enough to be a whole new rebuild, but for me, you could see where this could go.

“At this point, I’m not even sure if I’m starting. You can’t assume, man. That’s what comes with doing what you can for the team.”

Adams’s take on where the team could go saw him sign a two-year contract extension with the Pelicans before he even made it to New Orleans. Adams said he has yet to find out exactly how they will use it in New Orleans, but he was excited to find out.

“You’ll probably have to ask me next week,” he said about how he will fit into the team. “Then I’ll give you a better answer, how about that?”