Over the years, NBA insider Bill Simmons has gotten enjoyment at taking shots at the Houston Rockets organization. Simmons threw jabs at the franchise when they were contenders with James Harden, citing the style of play as being unpleasant to watch.
Simmons has also managed to take shots at the franchise throughout their rebuild, particularly Rockets shooting guard Jalen Green. All in all, Simmons has the worst takes about the Rockets.
And it's undeniable. And also undebatable.
At times it's difficult to decipher whether Simmons is trolling or not, as his Rockets' ideas are that bad. For this reason, the shock value is no longer that immense.
In spite of that, his latest trade idea involving the Rockets and Boston Celtics was quite eye-opening, as it was far-fetched, one-sided, and in favor of the Celtics (per usual).
Rockets fans respond to Bill Simmons' ridiculous trade proposal
On Simmons' podcast, he theorized a trade in which the Rockets would land Jaylen Brown in exchange for Jabari Smith Jr. and the Rockets' fourth overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. Simmons stated that he wishes his Celtics would have done the deal (I'm sure he does).
Take a listen for yourself.
Bill Simmons regrets that his Celtics didn't push for a Jaylen Brown for Jabari Smith Jr and #4 pick trade. pic.twitter.com/dBugWp5aup
β ClutchFans (@clutchfans) July 10, 2023
First off, this deal clearly wasn't on the table. Perhaps Simmons thinks Rockets GM Rafael Stone is still inexperienced in his role and can potentially be bamboozled into making a foolish deal like this.
Brown is surely the best player right now but the Rockets would have to give him a new contract fairly soon, as his current deal expires after the 2023-24 season (Brown is eligible for a supermax extension but the Celtics haven't given it to him yet). Smith is just entering his second season in the league so any team acquiring him would have quite a while before they'd have to cross that bridge.
Ditto for whomever the Celtics would theorectically select with the fourth pick, which they'd land in this deal if it were up to Simmons. The deal is so one-sided that it drew the attention of Rockets fans.
Man just made up a trade to be disappointed by. Elite delusion. https://t.co/jD6Ivi2tgc
β Del (@TweeterDel) July 10, 2023
Man can I get some reporting collaboration- cause this seems like totally Simmons fan fiction. Ain't no one discuss this trade other then the 2 people in bill Simmons head lol https://t.co/XfXpb501CZ
β K.i.s.m.π€΅πΏis on spoutible (@mike_inago) July 10, 2023
Fans took note of the sudden change in Simmons' outlook.
Was calling the team a dumpster fire with no direction now wants Jabari and Amenπππ https://t.co/8yQQFilOMl
β Kaiππ (@CL1VEROSFIELD) July 10, 2023
Diehard Rockets fans also noticed how uneven and unequal his coverage towards the Rockets is in comparison to other teams that would/should be in the same tier.
Every podcast that Bill does when trades come up he invariably just pillages the Rockets roster of talent to go to other teams with zero regard to if this is the right move for the Rockets. He doesn't do that with any of the other Tank Tier teams like DET and ORL.
β Chris A. White π» (@fyrebear) July 10, 2023
Orlando: Cole Anthony and two seconds
β ClutchFans (@clutchfans) July 10, 2023
Detroit: James Wiseman in a straight swap
Houston: JALEN, JABARI, #4 PICK, BOTH BROOKLYN PICKS...
Kudos to Rockets fans for acknowledging the absurdity of this idea, but it surely won't be the last time we see something of this sort from Simmons.