Podbit · The Bill Simmons Podcast
Brad Stevens traded Jaylen Brown to Philadelphia for Paul George and two firsts. That move attracted LeBron to Philly, creating a superteam that now threatens the Celtics. Boston essentially traded their archrivals a dynasty-starting piece.
Where this was said
At 21:20 · chapter starts 3:02
Bill and House open with their unanimous pick: Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors are the biggest losers of LeBron's decision. [1] — Bill Simmons "Steph Curry is now the saddest older NBA superstar since Steve Nash on the 2011 Suns or Kevin Garnett before his Boston trade. Golden State…" 05:02 Bill calls it the saddest older-superstar situation since Nash on the 2011 Suns or Garnett before his Boston trade — pure purgatory for a player who still clearly has basketball left to give. The Warriors passed on trading for Jaylen Brown (which Bill believes would have sealed LeBron's destination) and Anthony Davis, and now sit at 27-to-1 to win the West. House calls the rational franchise move an obvious one: trade Steph Curry. Bill floats a San Antonio scenario with De'Aaron Fox and a mountain of picks that would pair Steph with Wemby. Miami comes next — publicly teased by LeBron's camp before being stood up, left with Bradley Beal and DeMar DeRozan and nothing left to move. Cleveland is named as the team left at the altar for a third time, hamstrung by the inability to trade James Harden. And Brad Stevens and the Celtics close the list: by trading Jaylen Brown to Philadelphia, Boston essentially handed the Sixers both Brown and LeBron. [2] — Bill Simmons "Brad Stevens traded Jaylen Brown to Philadelphia for Paul George and two firsts. That move attracted LeBron to Philly, creating a superteam…" 21:20 House wins his dinner bet — he'd predicted Philly weeks earlier and they're headed to Capo.
Steph Curry is now the saddest older NBA superstar since Steve Nash on the 2011 Suns or Kevin Garnett before his Boston trade. Golden State had chances to trade for Jaylen Brown and Anthony Davis and passed on both — and now LeBron is gone to Philly.
Golden State has the 7th-best odds to win the Western Conference at 27-to-1, reflecting how far the franchise has fallen without making a major move.
Bill Simmons floated a scenario where San Antonio — armed with Atlanta's pick, Boston swaps, Dallas or Minnesota swaps, Sacramento swaps, and more — offers De'Aaron Fox plus picks for Steph Curry. Two-time Olympic Steph joining Wemby would be the most compelling team in basketball.
LeBron James signed with the Philadelphia 76ers for just $4 million per year, choosing the best championship opportunity over maximum money.
Thomas's wife deferred her CrossFit career — she's in the global top 1% of athletes — to put him through law school debt-free. He wants her to chase the dream now; she wants the emergency fund and house down payment first. On a $200K lawyer income with no debt, the opportunity cost is just a few months of slower saving.
Underground calisthenics battles are exactly like UFC meets a rap battle — 150 people crowded around a circle, fighters walking out with masks and chains, nicknames like 'Extra Money' vs 'Calisthenics the Prince,' and people throwing money and betting. The battle set: 100 burpees, 50 muscle-ups, 75 dips, 75 squats with a 65-pound dumbbell. This is the next big spectator sport.
Rico Verhoeven controlled the undisputed heavyweight boxing champion for approximately 10 rounds — and had his appeal upheld when officials admitted the fight was stopped after the bell. The result was never overturned. Rogan calls it either incompetence or corruption, and argues the money behind Usyk made an upset politically inconvenient.
Rogan lays out a blunt case: boxing's 3-judge system is structurally broken, and the judges know who the promoter wants to win. Glory's 5-judge format is the right model. Corruption doesn't have to be conscious — just knowing Usyk is the cash cow is enough to tilt the scales.
With the Usyk-Wilder fight stalling and Fury-Joshua coming too late, the real fight the world wants is the rematch. Rico is a free agent. Usyk vacated his belts. The story is unfinished and both Rogan and Rico know it. His Excellency Turki Alasheikh already called for it ringside — the question is money.
Rico texted Jason Statham during the Canelo-Crawford fight. Statham showed Rico's highlight videos to promoters. Two days later, Rico was on a call about fighting Anthony Joshua. When Joshua pulled out, Rico pitched Usyk himself — Undisputed vs. Undisputed. Usyk said yes in two weeks. The whole thing started with one text.
Every heavyweight who faced Usyk tried to move to the right — straight into his power hand. Rico and Peter Fury identified the obvious solution: move left, away from the left hand, and smother him with size. It sounds simple. Nobody had done it. That one adjustment was the foundation of 10 dominant rounds.
MMA fans boo when fights go to the ground. They love stand-up. Kickboxing is pure stand-up. Yet it barely exists in America while boxing and MMA are enormous. Rogan's diagnosis: no promotion machine. If the UFC got behind kickboxing the way they've built MMA, it would explode. The talent is there — the storytelling machine is not.
A nation of 17 million people gave the world Ramon Deckers, Peter Aerts, Badr Hari, Melvin Manhoef, Rob Kamen, Ernesto Hoost, and Rico Verhoeven. Rico's theory: the country is so small that every gym shares knowledge freely. In the US, you need a flight. In Holland, you drive 40 minutes and spar the national champion.
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