Bill Simmons Suggests Petty Celtics Move to Spite Lakers in Draft
Bill Simmons is riding the high of the Boston Celtics’ NBA Championship and now he’s trying to make life worse for Lakers fans to keep the fun times rolling.
Simmons brought up the idea of Boston drafting Bronny James with the No. 30 overall pick in the upcoming NBA Draft on The Bill Simmons Podcast on Wednesday.
And while you might think that’s simply him poking fun at the Lakers’ situation, it might not be that unrealistic.
A recent ESPN mock draft has Boston taking Bronny with the No. 54 overall pick – one pick before the Lakers’ No. 55 selection.
Could the Celtics Select Bronny James?
There are a few reasons Boston could select Bronny.
As Simmons postulates, they could draft him and then use him as trade bait to acquire an asset from the Lakers.
Or they could use him as trade bait for another team hoping to lure LeBron.
“No, I’m saying for the asset,” Simmons said on his podcast. “The Lakers, you want him? Well we took Bronny, give us Max Christie. How bad do you want him? I would say Bronny the asset at 30 as a trade thing is worth more than anyone they could get here.”
After all, this is a weak draft class and the Celtics don’t need to add a premier talent to compete for back-to-back NBA titles.
But it does seem a bit ludicrous on the surface.
“This is our ‘f*** you’ moment,” Simmons continued saying on his podcast. “This is Ben Affleck saying, ‘I just won for Argo, I’m going to be Batman.’ We have the title won, now we’re taking Bronny James! LeBron beat us in our last four playoff series against him, we’re taking your son!”
Bronny's own agent, Rich Paul, has even admitted he still needs development. If Boston selects him and can’t find a trade partner, it would be an awful fit. And the Lakers wouldn't have to take the bait - potentially forcing the Celtics to be stuck with a wasted draft pick.
Kinda feel bad for Bronny. Feels like he's inevitably going to be drafted higher than he should be just to be a pawn in some team's scheme to land LeBron James for
— Gerald Bourguet (@GeraldBourguet) April 30, 2024
a season or two, which could ultimately stunt his development once dad hangs it up https://t.co/ggdrWbXwzC
It’s hard to see how Bronny would find playing time with the Celtics, and thus would likely be sent to the G-League, which is something he doesn’t want.
This is likely just Simmons doing his best to taunt Lakers fans – as he does best.
But don’t count it out completely.
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