Turns Out Bill Simmons Doesn’t Understand How NBA Trades Work

I have a confession to make. I hate Bill Simmons. Growing up I used to like Bill, but I’ve completely turned on him. A lot of things have gotten me to this point. That time he cried about the Celtics picking Jaylen Brown. Maybe it was that time that Simmons went out on his own with The Ringer and then got lazy and stopped writing. Maybe it was that time that he is trying to sell The Ringer when he only has himself to blame for just being downright lazy and doing 2 podcasts a week. Maybe it’s that part where he pretends to be the smartest person about the NBA but doesn’t know ANYTHING.

This next tweet says it all:

The Knicks trading assets for D-Lo this week when they could have just signed him 7 months ago — instead of signing 4 power forwards — cannot be classified as “unbelievable” because it’s the Knicks and I would totally believe this.

— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) February 3, 2020

Bill, Bill, Bill, you idiot. That’s not how this whole thing works. You see, D’Angelo Russell was part of the Kevin Durant sign and trade. Russell signed a max extension with the Nets that allowed him to be moved to Golden State in the Durant deal. Russell was never on the market once this came to fruition. This allowed Russell to also get the maximum payment.

Russell was also a restricted free agent. You see, Bill, that means if a team wants to sign Russell, they can only send in an offer sheet. The Nets had the option to either match or decline an offer sheet. In this instance, this wasn’t an option because the Nets agreed to the max deal in a sign and trade. A deal that only came to light when Durant wanted to go to BK.

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I hate that I have to stick up for the Knicks. I can’t stand the Knicks. This is about doing what’s right. I don’t understand how anybody likes Bill Simmons. Maybe it was that part where he owns The Ringer and then shares more articles from other publications than his own. Bill Simmons has done one thing right since creating The Ringer. Snagging Ryen Russillo. I guess that’s more than the Knicks have gotten right recently.

UPDATE:

Update. Bill now believes the Knicks could have topped Golden State’s offer of Kevin Durant. pic.twitter.com/97L7VhhVSi

— Vendetta Media (@VendettaVSM) February 3, 2020