Is the lottery fair? Is that OK? … While We’re Waiting
May 22, 2014Chief Wahoo on borrowed time as 50 Senators sign letter about Redskins name
May 22, 2014Bill Simmons may be bulletproof in the eyes of various ESPN employees, but that didn’t stop a few high-profile ones from coming out and defending Cleveland in the wake of the 2014 NBA Lottery results. When it was revealed that the Cleveland Cavaliers—once again—have the first pick in the NBA Draft, Simmons quickly took to the airwaves to say that the league “needs new rules” and that he was done with “karma for Cleveland.” You know, as if the town has so much to hang their hat on in the way of championship banners.
Nevertheless, ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt and Ryan Russillo kicked off Wednesday afternoon’s radio show with some shots fired back in defense of the lakefront city.
Van Pelt: Cleveland got the pick—got the No. 1 pick. And I was just amazed at how mad everyone was. Like so many people were mad at Cleveland. Here’s [Bill] Simmons—and again, Simmons, you got a lot of nerve, Simmons, getting mad at Cleveland, like they’ve had such great luck in life.
[Simmons sound byte]
It’s funny, and I love—he’s got the sort of status where he can say and do anything, which is great. It must be fun to have a bulletproof shield, and he’s got it.
Russillo: Yeah, but that’s why he’s on the [NBA pregame] show. He represents the guys at home watching the lottery. he’s not some hardcore journalist or a former NBA guy worrying about his next job. It’s a perfect role.
Van Pelt: Yeah. Also, Grantland worked, and “30 for 30” is good and he’s a giant earner for the company so he’s earned the right to be bulletproof. But it’s funny. I take issue with this—they weren’t rewarded. The ping pong balls, that’s what they got. Philly would have been rewarded for, as you said earlier, trotting out a garbage roster all year. Better not to reward that. Cleveland got lucky.
Now if you want to get mad about last year, who were they supposed to take? They didn’t pass on Hakeem Olajuwon, Michael Jordan and Patrick Ewing to take [Anthony] Bennett. I’m not telling you Bennett’s good; he was lousy. Maybe Nerlens Noel is going to turn into a good player. I’ve seen people suggest they should have taken him. Alright, I don’t know that—
Russillo: But wait. People are only suggesting that because they didn’t see him play and watched all the other draft picks play.
Van Pelt: Exactly. The same reason everyone loves [Dante] Exum in this draft class is because he’s the one guy no one has seen. So if you want to be mad that they didn’t take the right guy in a draft class when there was no obvious guy, OK. The Mike Brown piece—I have no arguments for that. And if it’s all about saying, “Hey, we don’t think LeBron [James], in the future, would be psyched about this—let’s do everything we can to lure LeBron back,” then that’s a separate topic. But as it relates to just this, and Cleveland getting lucky, I just shrug and say, if any city deserves just a little bit of good fortune in their life, it’s Cleveland. Because they’ve had zero. Forever.
Later in their show, Van Pelt and Russillo had NBA legend and TNT analyst Charles Barkley on to discuss the NBA Finals and LeBron. As has been the case for much of the last four years, Barkley was on Cleveland’s side.
“I’ve always thought he was going to go back to Cleveland. Nobody dislikes LeBron. I think LeBron made a huge mistake with that ‘Decision’ crap. He’s come back and since admitted that. That’s the only thing people hold against LeBron. He’s a great player, a great person. I hope he goes back to Cleveland. Those fans in Miami are not real fans, those fans in Cleveland are real fans. I’ve always hoped he would go back to Cleveland. That would be a great way to finish his career.”
Simmons, though bulletproof, hasn’t tweeted since the night of the Lottery. The last piece he wrote for Grantland.com was about his “NBA Draft Lottery Karma Rankings,” where he had the Cavaliers ranked dead last.
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Photo: Jon Cole/WFNY
79 Comments
If the current draft system continues to infuriate talking heads like Simmons (and especially obnoxious Boston fans like Simmons) then I’m all for it.
I….almost don’t believe this is real.
I made the mistake of putting a comment critical of Simmons on Grantland yesterday. I might as well have screamed “go Yankees” in the middle of Fenway park
It is rather satisfying to completely piss of the entire NBA. Not that it means anything in the long or short term, but after the past three years of celebrating the lottery like it was some sort of exciting event (and getting scoured for it by others), everyone in Cleveland was out doing yard work during the most anticipated draft lottery since Lebron (maybe Oden/Durant), and we go out and win that. There’s no logic to it, there’s no greater meaning. It’s just hilarious. Simmons can be mad, Barkley can be happy, but we hit on 50/1 odds in a lottery. And that will never stop being amazing.
Simmons’ position is particularly asinine because he’s such an outrageous hypocrite on this point. He has for years defended the draft lottery in part because a decent team will win sometimes. From a recent column (http://grantland.com/the-triangle/nba-bag-the-phil-jackson-to-the-knicks-theory/): “Last point (and I’ve made it before): It’s not the worst thing ever if a decent team wins the lottery. Was it bad when the Bulls got Derrick Rose, or the Magic teamed up Shaq and Penny Hardaway?” (The Bulls, as you’ll recall, also had a 1.7% chance of winning the #1 pick in the 2008 Draft.)
It’s only once his precious Celtics flushed away an entire season on the hopes of winning the lottery that he suddenly finds this system unfair and bad for basketball. I know he’s playing a character on TV, but give me a break.
nice work
“Bulletproof” is hardly the word that comes to mind when I think of the Sports Guy. If his twitter life is any indication, there may be no one more thin-skinned in sports media today. For someone who does little but offer his own opinion, I find that rather cowardly.
In his karma article, Simmons said that the Cavs had won the lottery 4 times before Tuesday night (wrong because the 76ers won the 86 draft and traded it to the Cavs for Roy Hinson). However, he must have been subconsciously predicting the future…
I find it rather funny that between JFF, the Lottery, and This Week in (Indians) Baseball, the national media cannot stop talking about Cleveland – and most of it in good ways (sit down, Josh, I’m not acknowledging you). As an insider now living on the outside, it’s really been refreshing – in part because Cleveland fans are just not the insufferable jerks that fans of other “high profile” cities seem to be. Sure, we’re insufferable in our own way (ugly victimhood), but I doubt the rest of the country is saying “I’m so sick of those Cleveland jerks!” This makes Simmons all the more ridiculous (as an insufferable Boston jerk fan) and Van Pelt and Barkley all the more credible, even in the midst of Barkley’s outrageousness.
Follow-up: He really has been saying this forever. From 2009 (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/090513/part3): “A borderline lottery team defied the odds three times: In 1993 with Orlando (the Magic reach the NBA Finals two years later); in 1997 with San Antonio (the Spurs bottom out only because of Robinson’s injury, land Tim Duncan, then win the title two years later) and in 2008 with Chicago (the Bulls land Rose, turn into a fringe contender, then give us the best first-round series ever). Was it a bad thing that we turned a half-decent young team into a contender? Did anyone not like how this turned out?”
Apparently Bill has answered his own question, and now distinctly does not “like how this turned out.” Cry me a river.
Instead of taking explicit cheap shots at Cleveland like others in the media do, what Simmons does is pretend to sympathize with Cleveland’s suffering (the whole “God Hates Cleveland” thing where he shakes his head in pity and disbelief). He’s not a Boston guy who “roots” for us little Clevelanders…turns out, he’s just really rooting for God to smite us a little more.
Simmons is mad because his “tanking for improvement” theory has been disproven. The Cavs were rewarded for actually not tanking this season.
Also, the Kyrie Irving pick was from the Clippers. Cavs technically didn’t win that lottery either.
Bill Simmons: Studio Gangster
i think they were referring to his job security, not his personality.
You know what would REALLY make this great for Cavs fans? If Anthony Bennett goes out and just rips it up next year. He’s got the talent, just needs to figure out how to use it.
Also if he has a coach that helps him figure out how to use it. “Play defense” probably didn’t do much to aid his development.
Amen!
“Play defense” was good for his rebounding at least…now if he could only work on the other 80% of his game.
when I commented on grantland yesterday, Simmons reaction to the Anthony Bennett pick was one of the things I discussed. Simmons himself said that Bennet had the most athletic upside of anyone in the draft last year. In a year where there are no “sure fire” All Stars, whats the harm in taking a shot on the guy who most agree has the most potential?
But all of a sudden when someone from Cleveland does it, it’s a stupid move by a bunch of incompetents. Bad thing for Simmons is not all of us have the attention span of a fruit fly, so we actually remember things he has written in the past.
Simmons has never spoken for Boston fans at least not this one thank you very much. ESPN has hands down the worst pre-game coverage and their actual game coverage isn’t much better.
I liked Boston fans so much more pre-2007.
You can say he doesn’t speak for you, but come on…being a Boston fan is his whole shtick.
He has had a career and ESPN did hire him but like I said he doesn’t and hasn’t spoken for this Boston fan ever. In fact I go out of my way to avoid him as much as possible especially on ESPN. I had little choice since they aired the lottery unfortunately. I wish NBATV carried it besides TNT easily the best broadcasters for basketball.
LoL
2004.
I hate to defend Simmons at all, and yes, I’m sure quite a bit of it is that the Celtics didn’t win. And I have to make sure I say that I’m glad this is rubbing him the wrong way, and Cleveland fans deserve every break they get. But his point here is that a decent team didn’t win it.
The Cavs have had plenty of lottery luck over the previous three years, and what has that amounted to? A 30 win team. They’re a poorly run team that has barely even sniffed the playoffs in a horrendous conference. If we had “normal” lottery luck over the last three years, we’d be right there with the Sixers and Bucks.
As I said yesterday, yes, Gilbert has been greatly rewarded. And that’s Simmons’ issue.
KTR = Kiss The Ring
My point exactly Shammy, my point exactly.
The irony being that Brown supposedly loved the kid and wanted Grant to take him – then Brown lets him languish on the bench.
Simmons is an insufferable little tw*t.
And quite frankly, he can kiss my a**.
I don’t have a gif that accurately conveys my feelings for him that WFNY would let stand.
Hey I could have said ring$!!!
http://www.reactiongifs.com/r/umad.gif
In part, because there (strangely) wasn’t so many of them.
Of course, the hubris is what we Clevelanders need to be aware of and try hard to avoid. WHEN we finally win, I hope that we all (to include those that will inevitably jump on the wagon) loudly celebrate and then quietly enjoy it ever after.
http://www.reactiongifs.com/r/fbsmsh.gif
Not quite.
You’ll have to settle for this…
http://gifsoup.com/view7/2894726/training-day-o.gif
Two more reasons why Brown should have been fired: Clark and Bynum both of whom he reportedly spoke on behalf of having coached them in LA.
You know what the trouble with you is? You’re too violent! – Cobra
“Anything worth doing, is worth doing right.”
– Hunter S. Thompson
and in return you may kiss….
http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120325065502/twilightsaga/images/2/2f/Bart-Simpson-Moon.jpg
the quiet will be us recovering from the nasty hangover. i mean, we are going to be drinking for a full month straight!
Problem is, in the draft with a seriously impactful top pick, Anthony Davis, we got screwed by a coin flip and he ended up on a team (New Orleans) that was even more poorly managed than the Cavs were this year.
If the Cavs had won THAT lottery, they pair Davis with Irving and none of this ever happens.
we screwed over Detroit and angered the Simmons in one fell swoop.
all the people say amen! oh oh, Oh OH.
no, you have it all wrong.
the Browns won’t let the Post talk to JFF.
the US Senators are on their way to outlawing Indian mascots.
the Cavs are evil because they dared tried to make the playoffs, failed, and won a lucky lottery drawing.
but really, the national media are dying to write positive stories about Cleveland. if you don’t believe me, then just ask them.
http://stream1.gifsoup.com/view4/4588754/anthony-bennett-dunk-o.gif
Can I just have a little peril?
-Brave Sir Robin
A lot comes down on how well Holiday’s leg heals, but I don’t see how anyone can say the Hornets are more poorly managed than the Cavs. And of course, we’ve had a few more picks than that one.
And you make Simmons point exactly. The Cavs had to get the #1 overall to succeed. They’re not a decent team.
Comment bar officially raised. Well done, DK.
Yeah, as Saggy states, he’s pretty much invincible when it comes to his status at ESPN. He’ll get the ocassional slap on the wrist (no tweeting for a week!), but he may as well be in the Popemobile when it comes to his employment.
they are among the youngest cores in the entire NBA. they have Kyrie who is proven to be mind-bending with better players around him (US national team & Allstar game).
they need a post-scorer, but the Bobcat/Hornets showed this year that you can find those in free agency (man, we would have looked good with Al Jefferson instead of Bynum).
I think the Cavs are a decent team. Not a good one, but one that just needs to add a few pieces to get there. Obviously, getting a top3 pick in this draft (let alone the top pick) speeds things up.
Also, other New Orleans 1st round draft picks w/ new ownership:
Austin Rivers (#10)
So, I would say it’s a bit early to know what will happen with their FO.