NBA analyst Bill Simmons of The Ringer is catching some riticism for his profane take on Houston Rockets rookie Jalen Green.
During Wednesday’s episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast, the NBA postseason award voter shared his opinion on the No. 2 overall pick.
“F–k Jalen Green,” Simmons said in jest.
I don’t want to clutch my pearls here, but what Bill Simmons said about Jalen Green seems to cross the line, especially when you’re given a postseason awards vote by the NBA. https://t.co/zLZViCPX1G via @chron
— Matt Young (@Chron_MattYoung) April 13, 2022
Simmons shared his intention to vote for New Orleans Pelicans rookie Herb Jones over Green for this year’s All-Rookie first team.
Green averaged 17.3 points per game compared to Jones’ 9.5 ppg — but Jones has been excellent on the defensive side of the ball. Green also finished the season with a red-hot streak, scoring more than 30 points in six of the Rockets’ last seven games — including a 41-point performance against Atlanta on Sunday.
Simmons feels the Rockets’ last-place finish (20-62) should disqualify Green from consideration.
“I don’t care you’re scoring 40 points and your team’s 19-60,” he added. “Congratulations. Herb Jones is like guarding dudes in real games.
“Now, the Houston people are going to be mad at me. I’m sorry. I like winning players, I’m sorry. Jalen Green will get there, it’s just that team was 21-61 this year or whatever.”
With the numbers he put up in his first NBA season, there’s no doubt Green is a rising star in the league. Just over a minute after he said “F–k Jalen Green,” Simmons backtracked on his take.
“I just didn’t think he was one of the five best rookies, but we also had an iconic rookie class,” Simmons added. “I think that’s one of the best rookie classes we’ve had.”
Simmons, meanwhile, thinks people are taking what he said out of context.
“This is ridiculous. I think we were laughing during 80% of this. My point was: I’m always leaning toward a rookie like Herb Jones who was meaningfully contributing to a decent team over someone putting up stats on a bad team. Jalen is gonna be excellent,” he tweeted.
This is ridiculous. I think we were laughing during 80% of this. My point was: I’m always leaning toward a rookie like Herb Jones who was meaningfully contributing to a decent team over someone putting up stats on a bad team. Jalen is gonna be excellent. https://t.co/D4LEmDF2ae
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) April 13, 2022
Herb Jones and the No. 9-seed Pelicans will look to keep their season alive with a play-in matchup against the San Antonio Spurs later tonight. Green and the Rockets are already looking ahead toward the 2022-23 season.