When I was in college back in 2008, I got a student worker job with Database Services. It involved sitting in the basement of a building in a stuffy room and reviewing hundreds (thousands) of transcripts to ensure they had the proper codes written down. I found myself in need of something to listen to on my MP3 player other than music to simulate a human conversation.
That’s when I discovered my first podcast: the B.S. Report, hosted by ESPN personality Bill Simmons. It was a wholly new experience to me, and Simmons’ ability to talk about any sport with wit and irreverence was captivating. He had a profound effect on my entrance into both podcasting and basketball discourse; his “Book of Basketball” was one of my favorite books as a young person.
Simmons has a number of classic bits and personas he puts on, but one of his areas of specialty is as a trade specialist. Few mainstream media members in sports enjoy coming up with fake trade ideas quite so much as Simmons.
What everyone has to learn at some point, however, is that as entertaining and nostalgic as Bill Simmons may be, his grasp of the league is both surface-level and archaic when compared to the NBA commentary being produced by people like Zach Lowe, Nate Duncan, Dan Favale, Nekias Duncan + Steve Jones, Ben Taylor, Sam Vecenie, so on and so forth. I listen to Simmons from time to time, but I’ve moved on to those podcasts that actually understand modern basketball.
Even so, Simmon has a massive following, and when he comes up with a trade idea, the world listens. He recently reported on a trade partner for the Cleveland Cavaliers that hasn’t been frequently discussed. What was the trade that he laid out, and would the Cavs consider it?
Let’s dig deeper on the idea to see if Simmons is on to something, or simply off his rocker.