Bill Simmons got back in his ESPN Grantland and right away–after saying “it’s good to be back”–started admitting he made a lot of mistakes. That he got a whole bunch wrong. But Simmons wasn’t talking about Roger Goodell, he was talking NBA basketball. Co-host Jalen Rose and Simmons have a nice rapport, and they talk their way through all 30 NBA teams before each season starts. This year they began with what they got wrong last year–like that the Suns would stink (they didn’t), which was enough really to make a listener not very interested in what the duo thinks this year, but nevermind about that.
After his three-week suspension, Simmons was name calling again. But he was even-tempered, not irate, as he called the Philadelphia 76ers “the worst team in the league again. How do they do it?” And he brought his famed contrarian quality to his $3 million a year gig. Maybe the Sixers are brilliant, he said, piling up draft picks for being lousy–it’s a question of whether their dignity can survive the present damage they’re doing. Simmons even managed to take a shot at NBA Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams, calling him a “really soft rookie of the year.”
