As part of the 2013 NBA Draft coverage by ESPN Bill Simmons got the call to join Rece Davis, Jalen Rose and Jay Bilas and as the night unfolded proved that it was a mistake mainly due to his lack of professionalism.
That became clear when the trade between the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets got made during the telecast. It meant that Kevin Garnett had agreed to drop his no-trade clause and would also send Paul Pierce and Jason Terry with him in exchange for Gerald Wallace and first round picks in 2014, 2016 and 2018. Many already know that Simmons is a Boston fan, so his reaction wasn’t surprising on the trade being agreed upon.
He began to perseverate on the contract of Wallace who is still owed $30 million of the next three-years. There’s no question that with the Nets he had a terrible season averaging 7.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.4 steals on 39.7 percent shooting, 28.2 percent from beyond the arc and 63.7 percent from the free throw line. It’s also important to note that Deron Williams struggled mightily at the beginning of the 2012-2013 season and that certainly played a role.
Making matters worse is during the Los Angeles Clippers selection at no.25, Simmons felts the need to call former Celtics now Clippers head coach, Doc Rivers a “quitter.” While there’s a strong argument that likely gets made for that being the case during the draft wasn’t the appropriate place to express his opinion.
When Reggie Bullock got selected ESPN felt the need to interview Rivers and bring up what got said. Doc stated “I would like to call [Bill Simmons] an idiot, but I’m too classy for that.” This meant that Simmons got to explain his rationale.
The icing on the cake of the incredibly poor performance by Simmons came toward the end of the draft when a pick got announced and a loud “what?” was the only thing heard. Next year hopefully Simmons will get kept at home.
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