Logan Riely/NBAE via Getty Images
Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green gave a shoutout to The Ringer’s Bill Simmons after he was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team on Wednesday.
On April 13, Simmons spoke about Green amid a discussion on the NBA All-Rookie team. During those remarks, he spoke about why he voted New Orleans Pelicans’ Herbert Jones to the first team over Green.
“F–k Jalen Green,” Simmons said (h/t Sean Keeley of Awful Announcing).
“I don’t care you’re scoring 40 points and your team’s 19-60. 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.”
The “f–k Jalen Green” part led to much criticism, including remarks from the Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green and Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid.
“How is it that this guy has a voice in deciding if Jalen Green will qualify for a super max deal?” Green wrote on Instagram (h/t Joseph Salvador of Sports Illustrated).
“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 this life that qualifies him to have a say in an NBA players salary? @NBA.”
Embiid also chimed in (h/t Cody Taylor of the Rookie Wire):
“I go back to what I heard on a podcast about Bill Simmons … It sounded like he had a grudge against somebody, saying, ‘F Jalen Green.’ If you’re going to allow these types of people to vote on these awards, that’s not fair. What if Jalen Green was in a position to earn a supermax (contract), or I don’t know, an All-Star appearance? You’ve got someone sounding like that and has a lot of power. He can sway a lot of other media members and you’ve got someone saying that type of stuff. I don’t think it’s fair. I don’t think it’s OK.”
Simmons did later say that he is “pro-Jalen Green” and that he ultimately didn’t feel he was one of the best five first-year players in an “iconic rookie class.”
“I think that’s one of the best rookie classes we’ve had,” Simmons noted.
Simmons also clarified his remarks in a follow-up tweet:
Bill Simmons @BillSimmons
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. <a href=”https://t.co/D4LEmDF2ae”>https://t.co/D4LEmDF2ae</a>
Green, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft, made the first team alongside the Toronto Raptors’ Scottie Barnes, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Scottie Barnes, the Orlando Magic’s Franz Wagner and the Detroit Pistons’ Cade Cunningham.
The former NBA G League Ignite star averaged 17.3 points on 42.6 percent shooting this year. He averaged 29.3 points in his final seven games, including 41 in the finale against the Atlanta Hawks.
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
