Bill Simmons Leaving ESPN

[Squirrel from Meteor Man]

Feels like a bit of a reach and its the same example you used in this thread back in May

You also think Zach Lowe is 'awful'? How come?

It's far from a reach. its right in line with his constant push of mediocre white players over black players. It's his MO and it has been since Page 2. Anyone who takes the commentary of someone who said Rubio was better than James Harden and the best passer he's ever seen play the game needs to reexamine themselves. And more recently, his love affair with Goran Dragic ("look at his finishing percentage!") Anyone with half a basketball brain could see they're overrated and products of hype and systems. But Bill Simmons said they were elite NBA talents worthy of being franchise cornerstones.

He also says Jae Crowder is the best player on the Celtics. Just ignore the brash, tough, leading scorer all-star point guard because he doesn't fit the hardwork, lunch pail, seen but not heard (that's how Bill likes his favorites) profile of Jae Crowder. Once again, anyone with a basketball brain can see the Celtics can probably make the playoffs without Crowder; they have no shot in hell without Isaiah Thomas.

Zach Lowe isn't my cup of tea. he's far from an expert but every casual fan will run to his articles as some sort of gospel. He's usually very off base (i.e. "Valinciunas is the only franchise player on the raptors", Goran Dragic is way better than Kemba Walker and the $90mm deal was a good move, Trading Klay Thompson for Kevin Love is a no brainer, the Knicks need to trade Melo and make Porzingis the guy, etc.) and these are just a few of many examples.

He represents what's wrong with new sports media, guys who have never played the game digging at every number they can find instead of using common sense and basketball knowledge. And when they're wrong, as they often are, they'll just ignore it and continue writing more trash.

 

[Brozay]

It's far from a reach. its right in line with his constant push of mediocre white players over black players. It's his MO and it has been since Page 2. Anyone who takes the commentary of someone who said Rubio was better than James Harden and the best passer he's ever seen play the game needs to reexamine themselves. And more recently, his love affair with Goran Dragic ("look at his finishing percentage!") Anyone with half a basketball brain could see they're overrated and products of hype and systems. But Bill Simmons said they were elite NBA talents worthy of being franchise cornerstones.

He also says Jae Crowder is the best player on the Celtics. Just ignore the brash, tough, leading scorer all-star point guard because he doesn't fit the hardwork, lunch pail, seen but not heard (that's how Bill likes his favorites) profile of Jae Crowder. Once again, anyone with a basketball brain can see the Celtics can probably make the playoffs without Crowder; they have no shot in hell without Isaiah Thomas.

Zach Lowe isn't my cup of tea. he's far from an expert but every casual fan will run to his articles as some sort of gospel. He's usually very off base (i.e. "Valinciunas is the only franchise player on the raptors", Goran Dragic is way better than Kemba Walker and the $90mm deal was a good move, Trading Klay Thompson for Kevin Love is a no brainer, the Knicks need to trade Melo and make Porzingis the guy, etc.) and these are just a few of many examples.

He represents what's wrong with new sports media, guys who have never played the game digging at every number they can find instead of using common sense and basketball knowledge. And when they're wrong, as they often are, they'll just ignore it and continue writing more trash.

Ive seen lots of people say Crowder is the Celtics best player and Ive also seen Bill hype up IT quite a bit

and I doubt casual fans are the ones who read Zach Lowe if anything he appeals to the opposite of that IMO

I respect your criticisms, but I dont think its fair to say hes a racist POS because he thought Rubio would be better than Harden, or his judgments on on some high school players

 

[Squirrel from Meteor Man]

Ive seen lots of people say Crowder is the Celtics best player and Ive also seen Bill hype up IT quite a bit

and I doubt casual fans are the ones who read Zach Lowe if anything he appeals to the opposite of that IMO

I respect your criticisms, but I dont think its fair to say hes a racist POS because he thought Rubio would be better than Harden, or his judgments on on some high school players

I believe it, but It falls in line with the mainstream love of quiet, hardworking players. That's why you have people saying Kawhi Leonard is the best player in the world and that he's better than Kevin Durant and Paul George when their eyes obviously tell them different. That's less a race thing and and more so casual fans hating players with personality. That'll never change. You can always find another 6'6 hardworking 3 and D guy. It's a lot harder to find a guard who can takeover a game and make big shots. That's why I can't agree with crowder being the best player.

I admire that Zach Lowe goes in depth analyzing the game and i see a lot if casual fans running to his work to defend their argument, even they don't understand what he's saying.

I've heard enough Bill on the radio and have read enough of him to know the vibe he gives off. anytime you have preface your comments saying "this isn't about race" it usually is imo. The things he used to say about Kobe went waaaay beyond Lakers/Celtics hate. You would've thought Kobe killed his dog.

He's not redneck, "get off my lawn" racist but he's definitely got some in him.

 

[Verbal Kint]

It's far from a reach. its right in line with his constant push of mediocre white players over black players. It's his MO and it has been since Page 2. Anyone who takes the commentary of someone who said Rubio was better than James Harden and the best passer he's ever seen play the game needs to reexamine themselves. And more recently, his love affair with Goran Dragic ("look at his finishing percentage!") Anyone with half a basketball brain could see they're overrated and products of hype and systems. But Bill Simmons said they were elite NBA talents worthy of being franchise cornerstones.

He also says Jae Crowder is the best player on the Celtics. Just ignore the brash, tough, leading scorer all-star point guard because he doesn't fit the hardwork, lunch pail, seen but not heard (that's how Bill likes his favorites) profile of Jae Crowder. Once again, anyone with a basketball brain can see the Celtics can probably make the playoffs without Crowder; they have no shot in hell without Isaiah Thomas.

Zach Lowe isn't my cup of tea. he's far from an expert but every casual fan will run to his articles as some sort of gospel. He's usually very off base (i.e. "Valinciunas is the only franchise player on the raptors", Goran Dragic is way better than Kemba Walker and the $90mm deal was a good move, Trading Klay Thompson for Kevin Love is a no brainer, the Knicks need to trade Melo and make Porzingis the guy, etc.) and these are just a few of many examples.

He represents what's wrong with new sports media, guys who have never played the game digging at every number they can find instead of using common sense and basketball knowledge. And when they're wrong, as they often are, they'll just ignore it and continue writing more trash.

Name one basketball writer/commentator who's always right or who's never gave an opinion that seems crazy 3-5 years later. That's part of the game. You're really stretching with the racism bit though. Nobody liked OJ Mayo and not only that he's been proven somewhat correct.

 

[prophecypro]

Of course he isn't.

​

He says stuff like this but and does have general CaC takes, but also I dont think I've seen a white dude who more for Iverson than he did and he's a Eddie Murphy stan for his 80 work so its a


Also he really gave Jalen a true platform to really be him way more than regular ESPN did so its

Rided for Lebron and Melo for a bit and was a fan of KG's fukkery even before he joined the Celtics so its a tough one

 

[Verbal Kint]

I believe it, but It falls in line with the mainstream love of quiet, hardworking players. That's why you have people saying Kawhi Leonard is the best player in the world and that he's better than Kevin Durant and Paul George when their eyes obviously tell them different. That's less a race thing and and more so casual fans hating players with personality. That'll never change. You can always find another 6'6 hardworking 3 and D guy. It's a lot harder to find a guard who can takeover a game and make big shots. That's why I can't agree with crowder being the best player.

I admire that Zach Lowe goes in depth analyzing the game and i see a lot if casual fans running to his work to defend their argument, even they don't understand what he's saying.

I've heard enough Bill on the radio and have read enough of him to know the vibe he gives off. anytime you have preface your comments saying "this isn't about race" it usually is imo. The things he used to say about Kobe went waaaay beyond Lakers/Celtics hate. You would've thought Kobe killed his dog.

He's not redneck, "get off my lawn" racist but he's definitely got some in him.

Sooo anytime someone really dislikes an NBA player it has to be about race even though 90% of the league is black?

And the Leonard stuff is a reach too. I've never personally bought into the hype that he's a top 5-10 player but to attribute it to his personality is silly. Granted I'm sure some people like that but Simmons has never been one of those 'shut up and act like you've been there before' types and he's always drooled all over KD and Bron so I'm not buying that argument. And truthfully a lot of people hate Kobe and while there's always some element of race for some people, he's also not all that likeable from his public persona. And with Simmons' irritating obsession with the Celtics his Kobe hate doesn't even seem odd. He had Thibadeau on his pod and spent 25 mns talking about the Celtics then said he just likes talking basketball with him, lol. He finds a way to incorporate the Celtics into every single basketball convo he has. So the Kobe hate makes sense. Now I'm sounding like I'm riding hard for Simmons which isn't my intent but the racism accusation seems like a reach from those examples. A very fair criticism is that he almost never discusses racial issues but he's all in whenever there's any story about a gay athlete

 

[Squirrel from Meteor Man]

Name one basketball writer/commentator who's always right or who's never gave an opinion that seems crazy 3-5 years later. That's part of the game. You're really stretching with the racism bit though. Nobody liked OJ Mayo and not only that he's been proven somewhat correct.

They're usually not always wrong either. He's usually been way more wrong than on point.

How was he proven correct? The same thing people said about Love back then are what they say about Mayo now. And vice versa. The only people who didn't like him in high school were the same type of people who didn't like Lebron or Melo in high school. Kids who were good and weren't afraid to tell you they were good. Kevin Love was far from a humble kid in high school and at ucla.

what did he do for people not to like him? Take money like every other high ranked high school player? Kevin Love's whole circle got money back then, nobody said a word. So when it comes down to it, it looks like there's one driving force behind the hate.

 

[FTBS]

I believe it, but It falls in line with the mainstream love of quiet, hardworking players. That's why you have people saying Kawhi Leonard is the best player in the world and that he's better than Kevin Durant and Paul George when their eyes obviously tell them different. That's less a race thing and and more so casual fans hating players with personality. That'll never change. You can always find another 6'6 hardworking 3 and D guy. It's a lot harder to find a guard who can takeover a game and make big shots. That's why I can't agree with crowder being the best player.

I admire that Zach Lowe goes in depth analyzing the game and i see a lot if casual fans running to his work to defend their argument, even they don't understand what he's saying.

I've heard enough Bill on the radio and have read enough of him to know the vibe he gives off. anytime you have preface your comments saying "this isn't about race" it usually is imo. The things he used to say about Kobe went waaaay beyond Lakers/Celtics hate. You would've thought Kobe killed his dog.

He's not redneck, "get off my lawn" racist but he's definitely got some in him.

This is not true. People swear up and down they want the humble "aw shucks" types players but their actions and attention says different. Mainstream casuals give 0 fukks about Tim Duncan but froth a the mouth at the mere mention of Kobe or LeBron. Kawhi gets hyped up because his team is winning...see loud ass Draymond. KD and PG were both coming off major injuries this year as well.

I do agree that people allow their preferences and bias to influence their analysis and perception.

 

[Verbal Kint]

They're usually not always wrong either. He's usually been way more wrong than on point.

How was he proven correct? The same thing people said about Love back then are what they say about Mayo now. And vice versa. The only people who didn't like him in high school were the same type of people who didn't like Lebron or Melo in high school. Kids who were good and weren't afraid to tell you they were good. Kevin Love was far from a humble kid in high school and at ucla.

what did he do for people not to like him? Take money like every other high ranked high school player? Kevin Love's whole circle got money back then, nobody said a word. So when it comes down to it, it looks like there's one driving force behind the hate.

People didn't like Mayo mainly because he was unabashedly arrogant and basically laughed at the 'amateurism' thing. Neither bother me in the least but that was the narrative and consensus on him at the time. Then he got to USC and got the lazy tag on top of it. Sure Simmons Stan'd for Love but he does that for someone every year. And I say he was proven correct because Love is an all star caliber player and Mayo's a role player. And though everyone claims Love is overrated all the numbers say that when he was the lead dog for the Wolves their starting 5 was top 5-10 in the league but injuries and their horrible bench are what kept them out of the playoffs so he proved that while he's not Bron, you can build at least a decent team around him (not saying you're winning a title like that but that's true of all but like 3-5 players in the league)

 

[Verbal Kint]

This is not true. People swear up and down they want the humble "aw shucks" types players but their actions and attention says different. Mainstream casuals give 0 fukks about Tim Duncan but froth a the mouth at the mere mention of Kobe or LeBron. Kawhi gets hyped up because his team is winning...see loud ass Draymond. KD and PG were both coming off major injuries this year as well.

I do agree that people allow their preferences and bias to influence their analysis and perception.

Yep and Simmons drooled over Draymond all last year who's the exact opposite of Kawhai

 

[GunRanger]

rappers should take note

 

[360Waves]

Only on the Coli is Bill fukking Simmons a racist.

 

[Osmosis]

rappers should take note

 

[ALonelyDad]

rappers should take note

I like Bill Simmons but Ringer already had a platform because of him and technically..ESPN and Grantland.

 

[threattonature]

rappers should take note

While I give him credit for being one of the few people who left ESPN and is succeeding, I disagree with his opinion about how having good content automatically means people will find it. Him having that big ass audience from ESPN makes it a lot easier than some new person trying to build an audience from nothing.