Bill Simmons of The Ringer made headlines this month after profanely revealing that he did not vote Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green to the NBA All-Rookie first team on his end-of-season awards ballot.
Simmons essentially left Green off of the first team because he felt as though there were some more deserving candidates, such as New Orleans Pelicans forward Herb Jones. He voted Jones over Green because he is on a team that eventually made the playoffs.
“(Expletive) Jalen Green!” Simmons said on April 13. “I don’t care you’re scoring 40 points and your team is 19-60. Congratulations. Herb Jones is 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.”
The comments by Simmons were understandably not received well by Rockets fans and the veteran analyst was roughed up on social media, as a result. Simmons addressed the backlash and downplayed the situation, adding that the comments were in jest.
Since Simmons’ initial rant, former All-Star Gilbert Arenas and current Rockets analyst Ryan Hollins came to the aid of Green and defended him. Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green also jumped in this week to speak out against Simmons.
Green took to Instagram and defended Green:
How is it that this guy has a voice in deciding if Jalen Green will qualify for a super max deal? He clearly says F Him, which sounds very personal, btw. But he has a say in what someone earns? What work has he done in his life that qualifies him to have a say in an NBA players salary? @nba
Green is referring to players qualifying for larger contract extensions by earning postseason awards. However, the All-Rookie voting does not factor into potential contracts, only All-NBA selections count toward those incentives.
Of course, the larger issue Green brought up is the motives of some of the 100 sportswriters and broadcasters that vote on the awards each year. Some of them have seemingly allowed personal biases to get in the way of voting, which has cost some players quite a bit of money.
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The issue of media members voting in the postseason awards is expected to be discussed in the next CBA negotiations. A contingent of writers and reporters are uncomfortable with the current dynamics of the voting process and plan to address it.
The NBA is in the process of announcing the winners of the end-of-season awards but has yet to formally reveal the two All-Rookie teams. The league previously announced Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes was named the Rookie of the Year.
Green finished fourth in the voting, registering one second-place vote.
Simmons likely could have delivered his argument in a more professional manner, instead of explicitly lashing out at Green. The brash comments certainly invoked an outpouring of support for Green and, hopefully, will serve as a learning moment for Simmons.
This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
